Kirby has large field of offers but don't expect a decision soon

Dondi Kirby is a big, strong 6-foot-3, 190 pound cornerback with offers from some of the top football programs in the country.

Kirby, who likens himself to New York Jets’ cornerback Darrelle Revis, doesn’t anticipate making a decision until his senior year, but already knows exactly what he wants in a program.

“Education first, then playing time and then tradition,” Kirby said. “Education is the biggest thing because even if I do make the NFL a great career is only about eight years and I’d only be 27-28 then.”

“Playing time is important because I’ve only not started one year since putting on the pads and I didn’t like it at all,” he said. “Tradition is important because I don’t want to go to a school that has had a losing record the past decade—I want to win a championship.”

The Monroeville, Pennsylvania native claims offers from Illinois, Miami (Ohio), Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, North Carolina, NC State, Ohio State, Indiana, Marshall, Maryland, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Purdue.

He claims that only Maryland out of the current group of offers is recruiting him the hardest. Maryland along with Iowa, Florida, and Alabama, which Kirby claims sends him new mail every day, are the schools putting the most effort into his recruitment.

All four schools offer “a lot” and are schools that he really likes.

One dark horse school for Kirby’s services is the University of Miami. Kirby admits that the Hurricanes were his favorite team growing up, but claims there is no guarantee he will commit to Miami if they choose to offer him.

“It would be great but they would have to fit all my categories for me to play there,” he said.

Another advantage that Coach Randy Shannon and the Hurricanes might have is the Atlantic Coast Conference. Kirby had nothing but good things to say about the ACC.

“The ACC is nice,” Kirby said about which conference he preferred. “The whole conference is great to me—I like all of the teams in the (ACC).”

Another potential factor is that his older brother Aaron plays football for the hometown Pittsburgh Panthers. But Kirby has indicated in past interviews that it won’t be the determining factor into what school he picks.

Kirby says that he is a physical corner with exceptional ball skills but is still planning on working on his speed and strength this off-season. He anticipates majoring in communications but that could change depending on what school he ends up choosing.