R250 LB Kirkland names top 10
Four-star linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. is altering his original game plan for the recruiting process, and part of those changes came Thursday when he released his top ten.
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Kirkland, the nation's No. 183 ranked prospect in the 2015 class, named a top ten of Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin Thursday night.
"[This is a] top 10, not a final 10," Kirkland reported after announcing his favorites. "All of these schools I have great relationships with. Even Oklahoma, I have been communicating with them for months. That is the biggest thing all of these schools have in common is relationships."
A total of 26 schools have offered Kirkland to date. The most recent of those was Oklahoma, and the Sooners offered just hours before he released his top 10.
Kirkland had originally planned to make his commitment announcement on May 30. He has since decided to postpone that decision and expects to have a decision in August now, saying it "will definitely be before my season begins."
The Indianapolis (Ind.) Lawrence Central prospect just came off winning the linebacker MVP award at the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. He detailed his game plan for the next couple months prior to the camp.
"My plan right now is to take some more visits and see some places I haven't been able to see yet," Kirkland said.
Ole Miss and Tennessee were two schools Kirkland offered up this past weekend when asked to preview his favorites ahead of announcing them on Thursday.
"Those are two schools that are both in the SEC and they have established great relationships, both been in this spring," Kirkland said.
It is a varied list of favorites for Kirkland. Four of the Big Five Conferences are represented, and only two of the top ten are in his native Midwest.
Josh Helmholdt is the Midwest Region football recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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