Top Big12 college bags DL Justin Kirkland from Oklahoma State

On Thursday, BYU made a key acquisition to strengthen its defense for the 2025 season. Justin Kirkland, a 6-foot-3, 335-pound defensive tackle from Utah, transferred from Oklahoma State and will join the Cougars.

Kirkland is originally from Roy, Utah, and played high school football at Roy High School, where he was teammates with BYU wide receiver Parker Kingston. After high school, Kirkland was on a two-year church mission in Hawaii before starting his college football career.

He started at Utah Tech, an FCS school, and had an excellent season in 2022. Kirkland's performance caught the attention of bigger programs, and he transferred to the Cowboys in 2023.

At Oklahoma State, Kirkland played all 26 games over two seasons. In 2023, he started the final six games of the campaign and helped the Cowboys reach the Big 12 championship game. Kirkland made a difference as a nose tackle, finishing with 10 quarterback pressures and 13 tackles that stopped plays cold.

In 2024, he played in every game again, starting once. Even though Kirkland didn’t start most games, he was one of Oklahoma State’s top defenders. According to Pro Football Focus, he had the third-highest overall defensive grade on the team and was the best run defender by far.

Kirkland ended the season with 368 snaps, one sack, six quarterback pressures and 13 more stops. Over his two years with the Cowboys, Kirkland totaled 40 tackles, seven tackles for loss, a sack and two pass breakups. He also earned Academic All-Big 12 honors for his work in the classroom.

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Where does Justin Kirkland fit in with the Cougars?

With Justin Kirkland back at Utah, he is expected to start immediately and will likely line up next to fellow defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa, who transferred from the Utah Utes. These two veterans will give BYU a strong and experienced interior defensive line for the 2025 season.

While the Cougars still have to figure out who will start at defensive end, the addition of Kirkland brings stability to the middle of the defensive front. With many younger players competing for time at defensive end, having Kirkland and Tanuvasa in the middle will be a big boost for BYU’s defense.