It may be an uphill battle now, but Dominic Kirks’ official visit to Pitt made an impression that won’t soon be forgotten.
Kirks — a 6-foot-5, 250-pound four-star defensive lineman from Villa Angela-St. Joseph in Cleveland, Ohio — will decide today between his list of finalist that includes Kentucky, Nebraska, Pitt, Washington and Wisconsin.
But it appears that his decision will come down to Pitt and Washington — and it isn’t trending toward Pitt.
He whittled down an offer list that included Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pitt, Rutgers, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and his decision comes after he’s made a few official visits.
Kirks was in Pittsburgh (June 2-4), Wisconsin (June 9) and Washington (June 16). And his official visit couldn’t have gone any better.
“I’ll rate the visit a 10 out of 10,” Kirks said earlier this month. “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.”
With excellent size and length (6-foot-5, 250 pounds), he’s a threat to blow by offensive linemen on the edge or power through them on the inside. And it’s easy to see why Partridge and the coaching staff value him.
247Sports rates Kirks as the 390th-ranked recruit in the class (39th-ranked defensive lineman and the 14th-ranked recruit from Ohio). On3 rates him as the 28th-ranked defensive lineman and the 11th-ranked recruit from Ohio while Rivals rates him as the 25th-ranked strongside defensive end and 11th-ranked recruit from Ohio.
Kirks is a fast-rising defensive line recruit, but he picked up his first Power Five offer from Pitt way back in November. It wasn’t until his recruiting process blew up this spring that additional schools jumped into the equation.
While Kirks would be an excellent addition to the class of 2024, joining the likes of four-star Jahsear Whittington and three-stars Francis Brewu, Ty Yuhas and Zach Crothers, it remains to be seen where he will end up.
Kirks hasn’t announced a time for his commitment, but PSN will be monitoring his announcement.
