Recruiting: California Athlete Has Strong Interest In Notre Dame
Looking through Notre Dame’s offer list and who the staff seems to be targeting early on and it becomes clear that California is once again becoming a priority for the Irish staff.
One player being pursued by the Irish staff is Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra athlete Devin Kirkwood, who spoke with BuffsCountry.com publisher Chase Howell about his recruitment.
“Recruiting process is going good right now,” Kirkwood told Howell. “I like where I am right now and I like the coaches that have offered me and I stay in contact with all of them all the time.”
Kirkwood is being pursued by a number of Irish coaches, including wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander and safeties coach Terry Joseph. He also talks to the head man at Notre Dame.
“I’ve had a lot of contact with Notre Dame,” Kirkwood stated. “I’ve been talking to Coach [Brian] Kelly a lot.”
Kirkwood took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame in November to watch the Irish take on Boston College. His interest has grown ever since.
“Notre Dame, I like them a lot. Their first impression with me was really good because they got to know me on a personal level,” continued Kirkland. “They asked me questions about myself, my background and wanted to see how I carry myself. And I like how their team is like a family and the coaches always care about what the kids are doing and the kids came first all the time.”
Kirkwood plays mostly safety in high school, but he will also line up at cornerback. He’s open to playing either position at the next level.
“No, not really,” Kirkwood said when asked if he has a preference between safety or corner. “Because I want to be able to show that I can play both because sometimes they might need a corner to play safety. Sometimes they might need a safety to play corner.”
Like all prospects, Kirkwood’s visit plans have been canceled after the outbreak of COVID-19. When things get back on track he plans to visit Michigan, Notre Dame, Cal, Arizona State and Colorado.
The interesting aspect of Howell’s discussion with Kirkwood was a comment about the top priority for the California safety.
“To be honest, from the start, telling me if I have a chance to come in and just take a position as a starter to start as a freshman,” Kirkland told Howell. “Being able to come in with the team and bond real easy and then being able to just have a great experience and winning a whole bunch of game and have a great relationship with the coaches.”
The 247 Sports four-star athlete would likely have a hard time doing that at Notre Dame. The Irish are set to return Kyle Hamilton, Houston Griffith, Isaiah Pryor, DJ Brown and Litchfield Ajavon in 2021, which would make it hard for any safety to come in and play a lot as a true freshman.
Kirkwood currently claims offers from Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, UCLA, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State and Kansas. He also claims offers from Brown and Yale, which speaks to his academic prowess.”
