Connections are important in recruiting and Brett Rypien has a whopper that has helped him land his first SEC offer.

The 2015 quarterback from Spokane (Wash.) Shadle Park has a cousin, the daughter of uncle Mark Rypien, who used to work in the Alabama football office and has developed a lot of contacts throughout the power conference.

Ambre Rypien now works at Under Armour but she sent out highlight film to schools across the SEC and Mississippi State jumped to offer first.

"My cousin, my uncle Mark's daughter, used to work at the football office in Alabama when Geoff Collins was there," Rypien said. "He knew my cousin really well and then he went to Mississippi State and my cousin sent out my film to a lot of SEC schools and he got a hold of it.

"I got a call from my uncle Mark and he told me I needed to call Geoff Collins so I called him and got the offer."

Mississippi State is the first SEC offer for Rypien and the 2015 standout is definitely excited about it. He doesn't know a whole lot about the program yet, he's seen the Bulldogs play a few games on television, but Rypien would prefer a closer inspection.

"Knowing it's one of the biggest powerhouse conferences and my cousin has all those connections down there, she's been sending my film out a lot and really helping me out through this entire process," Rypien said. "It's just really cool to know I have people there for me who are helping me out every day.

"I don't know a whole lot about Mississippi State. I watched a couple of their games last year and they obviously play in the SEC so it's a big offer. I'd like to get down to the South and take a couple unofficial visits to these schools because my cousin tells me so much about the conference. I'd love to get to know more about them."

Rypien, who threw for 3,579 yards with 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 10 games last season, has also been offered by Boise State, Colorado State, Idaho and Washington State. He recently camped at Stanford as well.