- Justin Kirkland transferred to BYU to play his final college season at home.
- BYU's defensive line saw many departures, making room for Kirkland's experience.
- Kirkland's transfer was influenced by family, and he brings leadership to BYU's defense.
PROVO — When former Roy High standout Justin Kirkland transferred to BYU to play his final season of college football in his home state, head coach Kalani Sitake said he would be a "big time" player.
That wasn't just a reference to the West Haven native's 6-foot-3, 345-pound frame — although the Cougars' will be happy to take that, too.
Few, if any, position groups saw as many departures (mostly via graduation) as BYU's defensive line, which returned five of their top seven a year ago. This year's starters will likely feature new faces in at least three of the four spots along the defensive front, including Utah transfer Keanu Tanuvasa and Kirkland, who played the last two seasons at Oklahoma State, at defensive tackle.
But Kirkland's second transfer destination had little to do with football. Mostly, he says, it was about family.
"Stillwater is a fantastic place," Kirkland explained. "But it's hard to get into, an hour-plus from Oklahoma City or Tulsa. So I wanted to come home to play in front of friends and family. And those guys had my best interests; they practically said, 'go Cougs.'"
Kirkland was limited through the first week of training camp with a nagging knee injury that defensive coordinator Jay Hill described as "fighting to get back ... as soon as we can."
He also had a final in one of his finance classes to take care of, and Kirkland is a veteran of college football. He played against BYU in each of his three previous years — right down to his freshman season at Utah Tech, where he played in all 11 games and recorded 40 tackles with 18 solo stops before transferring to Stillwater during a coaching change.
Kirkland said he and his wife Marlee loved their time at Oklahoma State, where he played in all 12 games in 2023 and started the last six at nose tackle, totaling 22 tackles, 11 solo stops, three tackles for loss and a pair of pass breakups.
As the Cowboys struggled last season to a last-place finish in the Big 12, Kirkland's playing time was more scarce in 2024 under the third defensive line coach of his career before finishing with 18 tackles, 3.4 tackles for loss, a sack and a quarterback hurry in 12 games.
So when Kirkland entered the transfer portal to see what his options might be for his senior year, a familiar place — and some names — reached out to him immediately.
"I knew a lot of these guys, and knew that opportunity was there after they went 11-2," he said. "But mostly, it was kind of a struggle for friends and family to get out there."
He was also exactly what BYU needed: a big frame, Division I starting experience, and strong leadership — in his own way. It helped that his wife grew up a BYU fan, and Kirkland fit in seamlessly with the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' flagship university.
Then there's Kirkland's own demeanor.
"He's a super comical guy, always happy, jovial," BYU defensive tackles coach Sione Po'uha said of the former church missionary in Hawaii who always brings an "aloha" to the room. "And we know that; we know we're going to face some (difficulties). But his spirit and his energy helps be the leader in our room and in our defense that we need."
It also didn't hurt that Kirkland had a close friend on the roster — a mole who plays wide receiver but has thrown three touchdown passes and starred on punt return last season.
Parker Kingston reached out to Kirkland as soon as he announced he was transferring, commenting both publicly and privately on Instagram and texting him even before his decision was fully made.
"That dude was tampering the whole time," Kirkland said of Kingston, tongue firmly in cheek. "Me and PK are pretty good buddies, and we've been figuring out how to make this happen. He was either going to go out there, or I was going to come here.
"It's good to be back and share the same locker room again."
He also fit a need, after the departure of defensive linemen John Nelson and Blake Mangelson, as well as Isaiah Bagnah and Tyler Batty on the ends. Add in Hawaii transfer Alvin Puefua, Southern Utah's Anisi Purcell and Weber State's Kaufusi Pafoke, and BYU's defensive tackles average 320 pounds up the middle.
"When he went in the portal, everybody was going after him," Po'uha said of Kirkland. "We were fortunate that he wanted to pick BYU."
