Pitt FB Recruiting
2024 3-Star DE Dominic Kirks Can Definitely See Himself Having a Future at Pitt
One of the more underrated recruits that visited Pitt over the weekend was Ohio native Dominic Kirks.
The pass rushing defensive end from Villa Angela St. Joseph HS in Cleveland has seen his recruiting profile explode this summer, as he’s been a standout at a couple of prospect camps.
Kirks is rated as a four-star recruit by On3 and a three-star by both Rivals and 247Sports. Currently, his offer list includes Pitt, Cincinnati, Washington, West Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kentucky, Rutgers, Indiana, Toledo, Miami Ohio, Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, UConn, Western Michigan, Temple and UAB.
Very humble and blessed to be named DL MVP at the loaded @UANextFootball camp. Huge shout out to all the guys that competed today. @VASJFootball @Rivals_Clint @Bill_Kurelic @TheUCReport @ChadSimmons_ @On3Recruits @DemetricDWarren pic.twitter.com/6S1H8AsFSn
— Dominic “DK” Kirks ✞ (@Domkirks) May 7, 2023
Upon his return home to Cleveland, PSN caught up with Kirks and learned very quickly how much he enjoyed his time in Pittsburgh. Kirks avoided the temptation of making a spur-of-the-moment commitment but make no mistake about it, Pitt appears to be the leader for his services.
With all of these offers, I asked Kirks what was it about Pitt that allowed them to get one of his official visits.
“I’ve been to Pitt a few times and they came to visit me at my school a few times, so Coach Collins and Pitt have been recruiting me for a while,” said Kirks. “Since they offered me, I’ve seen that trust and our relationship just keep building and building. I have a great relationship with Coach Duzz so it was a no-brainer to choose Pitt for one of my official visits. My family and I really trusted Pitt.”
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound athlete was part of a big group of talented prospects that visited the Panthers and Kirks says that the three days couldn’t have gone better.
“I’ll rate the visit a 10 out of 10. Throughout the weekend, I just felt the genuine care and the love that the coaches have for their players. I also felt the care that the players on the team had for the recruits that were visiting. They didn’t have to do everything they did for us when they hosted us. Nahki Johnson, the defensive end, he was my host and was a real good guy. He gave me great advice and he was open to every question I had. Which was a great thing because he wasn’t sugarcoating anything.
“He was really telling me about how everything works. From Nahki, I was trying to find out what the biggest adjustment was and whether was it more mental or physical. He told me that mental was definitely harder. I also asked him how much Coach Partridge really care for his players and he said that he cares about his players more than anything. He told me that Coach Partridge cares just as much about developing his players as young men as he does developing them as players. That was very important to me.
“I was also with Bangally Kamara. We were playing Madden, building that bond. That was very important for me to get comfortable with the guys. My family and I really enjoyed it, so I give it a 1o out of 10 for sure.”
At the end of his official visit on Saturday, Kirks and his family met with Narduzzi and made sure he expressed how much he’s interested in possibly becoming a future Pitt Panther.
“Coach Duzz asked me how it was (official visit), and I straight up told him it was 10 out of 10,” said Kirks. “I told him that I definitely see myself having a future at the University of Pittsburgh. He told me to take my time but to realize that I’m not the only recruit in the world and that they’re only taking two defensive ends and spots are filling up. I definitely understand and am aware of that.”
With all that being said, my final question was asking Kirks where his recruitment stood and were more visits ahead for him?
“Although Pitt was great, I feel that it’s important for me to check out other schools. This was my first visit, so I definitely want to try and get to at least two more schools. I believe that I’d be selling myself short if I didn’t at least look and see what other schools have to offer as well. I’m also humble enough to realize that recruiting is a business thing and that I’m not the only recruit in the world. Even if I get replaced by a school, I understand that because it’s business.
“I made a change with one of my visits, I won’t be going to Kentucky next weekend and have replaced them with Wisconsin,” said Kirks. “The weekend after that, I’ll be going to visit the University of Washington.”
