Former Oklahoma State DT Justin Kirkland Heading to BYU

Justin Kirkland is returning to his home state and staying within the Big 12 conference.

Kirkland announced his commitment to BYU on Thursday night, just a few days after hitting the portal from Oklahoma State.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 345 pounds last season, Kirkland spent two seasons in Stillwater after transferring from Utah Tech. He made seven starts in orange and black while playing in all 26 games across those two seasons. He had 40 tackles, seven tackles for loss and one sack as a Cowboy.

Kirkland is from West Haven, Utah, about 80 miles north of Provo.

He becomes the third player this offseason to transfer from OSU while staying in the Big 12 after safety Lyrik Rawls went to Kansas and offensive lineman Jason Brooks Jr. went to Houston.

The Cowboys have been active in the defensive line market of the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in guys like De’Marion Thomas (Vanderbilt), Michael Diatta (Virginia) and Sitiveni Havili-Kaufusi (UCLA), just to name a few. Iman Oates is also set to return after starting all 12 of the Cowboys’ games last season, where he had 25 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks.