In-state 4-star tackle Payton Kirkland: Miami ‘without a doubt’ has best coaching staff
In at least one way, Payton Kirkland talks just like a fan of the Miami Hurricanes.
He thinks Mario Cristobal is “without a doubt” putting together the best coaching staff in the nation.
“Miami, in my opinion, does have the best coaching staff right now,” the four-star tackle said Sunday after competing at the Under Armour Next camp at Ives Estates Park and landing an invitation to the Under Armour All-America Game. “It’s great that they’re going to be humble about that.”
He was impressed with Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal when he unofficially visited Coral Gables last month, and he has taken notice every time the Hurricanes have hired a proven assistant coach like offensive coordinator Josh Gattis or defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
The latest example came earlier in the weekend when ESPN reported — and the Miami Herald later confirmed — the Hurricanes were closing in on a deal with former Texas Longhorns coach Charlie Strong to be their linebackers coach.
Kirkland is a little bit of a different type of recruit — he talks about his mother’s relationship with coaches and coaching contracts when asked about his priorities — and Cristobal’s impressive efforts to build a staff resonate with the 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman from Orlando Dr. Phillips.
“They’re hiring greats,” said Kirkland, who’s the No. 17 tackle in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2023. “It’s not just one great coach here and a mid-tier coach here. They’re hiring people with experience, people with a background, people with knowledge and wisdom, and a track record.”
It has firmly thrust Miami into the thick of Kirkland’s recruitment as he gets ready to start lining up some official visits.
He knows his first official visit will be with the Georgia Bulldogs in April, and the Hurricanes and Michigan State Spartans, he said, will get visits, too. Otherwise, he also mentioned the Florida Gators, Alabama Crimson Tide, Oklahoma Sooners and Ohio State Buckeyes as the schools he’s most interested in right now. He’s not necessarily planning to make a commitment anytime soon.
Cristobal, however, has proved he can get Miami in serious contention for high-profile offensive linemen in his short time in South Florida. His hands-on approach at the position — he has nine years of experience as an offensive line coach — made Kirkland’s visit with the Hurricanes in January memorable.
Even as hundreds of recruits flocked to Miami for a junior day, Cristobal made sure to spend a ton of time around Kirkland.
“They stuck by me and my mom’s side pretty much the entire time, and they prioritized me,” Kirkland said. “I got a chance to talk to Coach Cristobal for a while, like an hour or so. It was a great experience.
“We started out with ball, but it goes deeper than ball. It’s about being a better person, it’s about being humble in all things you do and giving all the glory back to Christ, so I feel like the staff — they’re very good at that, and they’re very good with being humble about things because they could easily go out there and publicly say, Oh, we have the best staff in the country, but they don’t. That’s something that sticks out to me.”
Kirkland said his mother’s relationship with the coaching staff is the most important factor in his decision and Cristobal, he said, has done a good job of building a relationship with Veronica Kirkland.
“They keep in close communication there. She’s on the phone with him when I get home from practice and things like that,” the junior said. “It’s about my mom’s relationship with the coach. It’s my mom’s trust in the coach to guide me more as a man, rather than on the football side because I can go anywhere in the country to get guided for football.”
Cristobal, of course, has a good track record there, too, and Cristobal’s offensive line background is not lost on Kirkland.
He knows it’s a unique situation to have a potential coach so involved in teaching the offensive line.
“That’s beautiful because you get to have a more focused environment,” Kirkland said. “You get to have a tackles-tight ends coach and a guard-center coach, so that really consolidates things and you’re able to get more 1-on-1 teaching.”
