STILLWATER – Justin Kirkland is the largest Cowboy at 6-3, 352 pounds. The 23-year-old from West Haven, Utah and a product of Roy High School. That is the same high school that produced Chicago Bears Super Bowl winning quarterback and Super Bowl Shuffle punky QB Jim McMahon. Kirkland went on his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints out of high school. The big and strong football lineman agile enough to play doubles tennis in high school came back and while many schools had shown interest coming out of high school it was Utah Tech that took him in. Oklahoma State got him out of the transfer portal after his freshman season. This week is pretty important to the Utah native.
“This is a big one, this one and BYU are curcled on my calendar for sure,” Kirkland said. “Then the whole talk that this is the Big 12 game, this and Kansas State. We’re excited. The whole team is pumped up. This will be a tough, gritty game and I’m excited to be in it.”
Kirkland is married. He brings a degree of maturity to a defense that has some other older players and an old soul in the middle in linebacker Nick Martin. Kirkland knows his role and from his view, which by the way is often obscured, thiss defense is ready for the challenge of quarterback Cam Rising, running back Micah Bernard, wide receiver Dorian Singer and the rest of the offense including an offensive line that averages 6-5 and 312 pounds.
“I think as every week has gone by that we’ve got better at the little things. Getting better at the things that we do well and the things we don’t necessarily do well,” Kirkland expressed. “Like you said as a nose tackle I take on the double team and then turn around and find the ball and then I see Nick Martin destroying somebody. You turn around and Lyrik Rawls is destroying a screen or something and Kendal Daniels had a huge hit this weekend. Yeah, I think our defense surely wants to play for one another and doesn’t care who gets the stats. We are like a nasty group of dudes, so yes, I think we’re ready for it.”
Kirkland shocked me and several other reporters this summer in fall camp when he said he was the strongest player on the team. He can max on the squat at over 650 pounds, bench press max is just over 500 pounds and he believes he can bench rep test (225 pounds) 51 times. He is looking forward to greeting some of his home state friends.
“I know a lot of those guys. A lot of those guys were recruited and they’re from Salt Lake (area). I’m from Northern Utah,” Kirkland said. “I know more people on BYU than Utah, but I know some of them. It’s a rivalry week.”
Enough said. Welcome to the Big 12 Utah.
