Xavier Kelly Sets Decision Date: Where Will 4-Star DE Land?

One of the nation's top pass-rushers will come off the board Friday when 4-star defensive end Xavier Kelly announces his commitment.

The 6'5", 255-pound Kansas native recently announced via his Twitter account that he will choose from a group of eight finalists: Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Kansas State, Michigan, Oregon and TCU.

Kelly is scheduled to announce Friday at 2 p.m. ET, as Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports detailed.

Kelly, who initially committed to Kansas State back in November 2014, has been on a whirlwind tour in the last month, with Clemson and Georgia being the last two schools to get him on campus earlier this month.

Which school has the inside track on adding the nation's No. 8 weak-side defensive end and the top prospect from the state of Kansas?

As Wiltfong noted, at the end of June, Kelly stated that a trio of schools—Alabama, Florida State and Georgia—were standing out to him.

However, it appears Clemson is the school gaining the most traction on his Crystal Ball page since he's set his announcement.

Kelly visited Clemson back in late May and returned last week for head coach Dabo Swinney's All-In cookout, according to Ryan Bartow of 247Sports.

As Hale McGranahan of the Clemson Insider noted, Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Marion Hobby were treating Kelly as a top priority while he was on campus.

"They were just giving me a lot of good reasons why I should be here," Kelly told McGranahan. "They feel like they really need me. They said it's perfect timing for me to come to Clemson because they really need some players at the position. They're in need at that position, so they want me to come in." 

As Ourlads detailed, the Tigers depth chart at defensive end has three upperclassmen among the top four players at the position, which illustrates the staff's desire to load up on quality pass-rushers in this cycle.

After his Clemson visit, he made the short trek to Athens to attend Georgia's Dawg Night camp.

According to Kipp Adams of Dawgs247, the Bulldogs also made an impression on him thanks to the opportunities they can present him on the field and in the classroom.

"Georgia is a great fit for me because it is close enough for my family, they are in the SEC, and they have great academics," Kelly told Adams. "I want to major in business, and they have a great business school."

The Bulldogs are also targeting quality pass-rushers in the 2016 class. But Kelly may fit in as more of an outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt's 3-4 scheme.

However, given Clemson's need at defensive end and his fit as a traditional pass-rushing end in its defense, the Tigers appear to hold the edge in landing Kelly's pledge heading into his announcement.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand, and all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.