July 23 is when four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Payton Kirkland[/autotag] plans on making his commitment but that isn’t stopping the in-state recruit from scheduling another visit to the University of Florida at the end of the month.
Kirkland told Gators Online that he plans on attending UF’s recruiting cookout on July 30 and could be there for the team’s Friday Night Lights camp the day before.
“I might go up to just chill that night, to be honest, and then go to the cookout,” Kirkland said.
In addition to Florida, Kirkland is considering Alabama, Miami, Michigan State and Oklahoma. The Hurricanes have been on a tear lately landing two of the top recruits on Florida’s board, five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag] and four-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], among others. Both recruits have outright said they want Kirkland in Coral Gables, but the Gators are the leaders for now, at least according to the experts.
On3’s recruiting prediction machine has Florida leading the pack with a 68.6% chance to land the Orlando-area tackle. Michigan State is well behind the orange and blue at No. 2 with 23% odds. ‘Bama is the only finalist being counted out at this point after Nick Saban and Co. failed to get him on campus for an official visit with higher-rated recruits on the board.
Michigan State might be in a position to take the lead in the coming days, but this is not a recruit Florida wants to lose, especially after five (going on six) visits.
Kirkland is ranked No. 295 nationally on the On3 consensus and is No. 24 among offensive tackles. UF plans to use him as an impact left tackle if he ends up picking the Gators.
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