4-star DL Dominic Kirks decommits from Washington

Painesville (Ohio) Riverside four-star defensive lineman Dominic Kirks has decommitted from Washington, he announced on social media.

Kirks initially committed to the Huskies back in June but did not sign on Early National Signing Day in December. He is expected to visit Ohio State this weekend.

Kirks’ decommitment follows the departure of Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer, who was announced as the next head coach of Alabama following Nick Saban’s retirement.

Kirks is the nation’s No. 227 overall prospect and No. 25 defensive lineman in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 11 recruit in Ohio.

Kirks has an On3 NIL Valuation of $66K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Spanaway (Wash.) Bethel 2025 four-star linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale also decommitted earlier today following the news of DeBoer’s departure.

More on Kalen DeBoer to Alabama

DeBoer is a fast-rising star in college football who will now be handed the keys to the premier and dominant college football program of the 21st century. Of course, he comes from Washington, where he coached for just two seasons, 2022 and 2023. But in that time, he flipped the Huskies from a 4-8 record program in 2021 to an 11-2 mark, Alamo Bowl win over Texas and a No. 6 final CFP ranking in 2022.

After returning star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his slew of elite pass catchers, Washington came into this past season with immense hype. And in a loaded Pac-12, it was DeBoer’s group who stood head and shoulders above the rest, finishing a perfect 12-0 in the regular season before completing a season sweep of a Top-10 ranked Oregon team in the Pac-12 Championship game.

That win completed a 13-0 mark and booked Washington’s bid to the College Football Playoff, their first since the 2016 season, where, coincidentally, that group led by QB Jake Browning and then-coach Chris Petersen, lost to Alabama in the national semifinal.

However, in this year’s semifinal, Washington broke through and toppled Texas for the second straight postseason to earn a spot in the national title game, something no Pac-12 program had accomplished since Oregon participated and lost in the very first College Football Playoff title game.