Clemson made the cut for one of the nation’s top offensive line prospects in the 2023 class when he narrowed down his recruitment last week.
Dr. Phillips High School (Orlando, Fla.) four-star tackle Payton Kirkland — who lists around four dozen offers — dropped a top-seven schools list on social media Dec. 23 featuring Clemson along with Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Penn State.
Kirkland visited Clemson this past summer and felt welcomed by the coaches as soon as he stepped foot on campus. Though he doesn’t currently list an offer from the Tigers, he has since kept in touch with Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell and area recruiter C.J. Spiller on a relatively frequent basis.
The Clemson Insider caught up with Kirkland about why Clemson is one of his top schools, what’s next for him in his recruitment and more.
“They’ve been serious about me since my freshman year,” Kirkland said. “When I was up there, I had a great time, and I have a great relationship with the staff. So, that’s one of the reasons why they’re in the top schools group.”
What has Kirkland – a junior listed at 6-foot-5, 330 pounds by 247Sports – been hearing from Caldwell lately?
“I’m a priority for them,” Kirkland said, “and that he sees me coming in there and being one of the greatest, most dominant offensive linemen to come out of Clemson.”
Kirkland said he doesn’t have any visits scheduled for this offseason yet. Moving forward, he plans to eventually trim his list down to five schools and then take official visits to those schools before making his commitment.
“I’ll probably narrow it down to five and then I’ll figure out where I’ll be,” he said.
As for precisely when Kirkland will render his college decision, that remains up in the air.
“I don’t have a timeline, to be honest,” he said. “Everything just happens when it happens.”
Kirkland is ranked as the No. 15 offensive tackle and No. 201 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
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