Baylor surged early on in the 2027 recruiting cycle, landing commitments from a trio of four-star prospects: Devontrae Kirkland, Luke Babin, and Karece Hoyt. But, the Bears also got out to a hot start in the 2026 class, but ended up losing their decorated commits. But that doesn't appear to be the case in the 2027 class, at least for Kirkland. The Waco (TX) prospect has long been connected with Baylor, and despite strong efforts from Stanford, along with interest from Oklahoma and Texas A&M, among others — Kirkland has shut down his recruitment and is sticking with Baylor. Great OV with the Family‼️#SicEm 🐻@BUFootball @CoachDaveAranda @CoachKlanderman @CoachK_Hall @ahunt90 @CoachBoEls @CoachK_Johnson @LarryBaylorFB @CallieCam_ @Jamar51Chaney @samspiegs @GrayGrundhoefer @AppleberryBU @_JadynWells @CoachOrloffBU @EdParisJr @London_Smith1 @dctf pic.twitter.com/eWMP6NsGYy— Davontrae "D-TRAIN" Kirkland (@DDavontrae) June 15, 2026"Yes sir I shut down my recruitment and 1000% committed to Baylor," Kirkland confirmed with Baylor Bears on SI. "Baylor has been recruiting me the past 4 years and has always been solid and real to me and my family and has never changed. "That means alot to me knowing that’s one thing I was looking for during my recruitment process. Family over everything! Having a final discussion with the family I felt this was the best school for me to further my academic and football career."Joe Klanderman building something specialKirkland is a 6'1", 190-pound defensive back and is ranked as the No. 53 safety in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He has a terrific offer sheet and it speaks volumes that Baylor will keep him around Waco for another three to four years. Earning Navy All-American Honors, Kirkland believes new defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman is bringing in a system that will allow himself, and the whole secondary, to do well. "I sat down with Coach Klanderman numerous times and went over the defense and the scheme was put in place to work," Kirkland said. "It’s easy to adjust to, and everyone has a set job to do in the defense. If everyone does their job, everything will workout. I think Baylor has the secondary to compete with the best teams in the nation. "On3 Kansas StateIn 2025, Baylor's secondary began the season slow, but by the end of the season, it was starting to slow down Big 12 offenses. Despite attrition, the Bears brought in a lot of new faces to fill voids in the secondary, with the likes of LeVar Thornton and Jacob Redding returning in 2026. With what Kirkland knows about Klanderman and his scheme, he believes Baylor is in for a great season on the defensive side of the football. "I love the defensive scheme Coach Klanderman and the defense staff bought in this year," said Kirkland. "Knowing Coach Klanderman's track record over the past few years he has always had a top ranked defense, so I’m predicting the defense to be lock down and Baylor to have a great season."Can Baylor get a flip?As far as the 2027 class goes, Baylor is sitting with nine commitments in the class, but the Bears are far from done on the recruiting trail. While the transfer portal is alive and well, Dave Aranda would love to add some more in-state players. Kirkland has been one of the vocal leaders in the class, trying to bring plenty of talent with him to Baylor. He will continue to put his recruiting hat on, and he would love to see Waco (TX) running back Lathan Whisenton come to the Bears next season."Yeah, you know I’m trying to bring in everyone that’s trying to be a part of something that’s great," Kirkland said. "Being a part of the change instead of changing. We have pretty much everyone we want right now and that wants to be here. If I had one player I could flip with would be my homeboy Lathan Whisenton. We been playing together since we were 8 years old and that would be awesome if we could continue at the college level."Whisenton is one of the top running backs in the 2027 cycle, but he is currently committed to Notre Dame. The Irish will be hard to beat out for Whisenton, but if Baylor can show life this season, it's possible the Bears could get back into the mix for the local product. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow