4-star DL Dominic Kirks narrows list to five schools

Cleveland (Ohio) Villa Angela-St. Joseph four-star defensive lineman Dominic Kirks is in the final weekend of three straight official visits and is ready to begin cutting his list down.

Five schools remain in the mix, he tells On3, a group that includes Nebraska, Wisconsin, Washington, Kentucky and Pittsburgh.

“I’m looking at the things that the school is really good at academically and athletically, how they can develop me to the best that I can be as a young man and as a player as well to get to the next level,” Kirks previously told On3. “The relationship I have with the defensive coordinator is important to me because I do believe I will be playing defense in college.

… What also matters is my relationship with the head coach, my position coach and the success rate of the combine invites and how many players the school sends to the league.”

The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder is the No. 385 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 34 defensive lineman and the No. 14 player in Ohio.

Kirks breaks down his interest in Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Washington

Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Washington have each hosted Kirks on official visits this month and are currently “very high” on his list.

Kentucky: Coach (Vince) Morrow really reaches out a lot. I’m starting to build a relationship with the defensive line coach (Anwar Stewart) and my head coach, he knows their coaches a lot. He trusts them a lot, so his word matters to me and I really trust I can build a great relationship with them. I’ve already been down there. It’s SEC football, that’s the best football in my opinion. You wouldn’t want to miss out on SEC football because of the development and they get players drafted.”

Pittsburgh: “Coach (Archie) Collins, the defensive backs coach there, he reaches out to me a lot. I also talk to coach (Charlie) Partridge and coach (Pat) Narduzzi, the head coach… They really stand out just by the hospitality and at the defensive line position. They’ve had some great guys get drafted like (Calijah) Kancey. He got drafted to Tampa Bay in the first round this year. Coach Narduzzi, he’s a defensive specialist as a head coach, so that really impresses me.”

Washington: “The city of Seattle is an amazing place… I feel like that could be a great place for me. I’m really connecting to my position coach (Inoke Breckterfield) and coach (Eric) Schmidt, the EDGEs coach. He keeps it honest with me and that’s very important to me. I’m building a great relationship with the players as well. I was sitting down at lunch with them when I took my unofficial visit in April and it really felt like I was talking to my brothers. That stuck out to me.

“I got to talk to coach (Kalen) DeBoer, the head coach. He’s a really laid-back guy… He made me feel as if I was at home. He showed me around. Courtney Morgan, the director of player personnel, he also showed me around the place. It’s a great place for me. I really love their defensive system. Their EDGE guys fly around and they had the most pressures last year.”