THE LATEST: Austin Kirksey threw for 2,446 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2017. The 6-foot-3, 195 pound junior quarterback out of Marietta (Ga.) Walton also rushed for 510 yards and 10 more touchdowns.

He is drawing a lot of attention early in 2018 and he just picked up his first offer. Nevada saw his tape over the weekend and offered that same day. It caught one of the top signal callers in the Peach State by surprise.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: "They had not been showing interest, so the offer came out of no where," said Kirksey.

"My dad sent them an email Saturday morning with my film and the coach said he happened to be on his computer, so he clicked on it and then he got a bunch of coaches to come in and watch it. They all said they liked me, so they got so coach Mumme had me and my dad call him. That is when he offered me on the phone.

"It feels amazing that I got my first offer and I’m really happy right now. I don't know too much about them, but coach Mumme sounds really cool.

"I don't have any visits scheduled yet, but just about every school has come by and told my coach they want to see me throw one more time. Ohio State, Rutgers and Troy came by last week. And I talked to coaches from Oregon, Kentucky and Duke over the phone."

RIVALS REACTION: This one was coming for a while now. Kirksey had a big junior season and he really improved as a passer. He is a true competitor, he works hard and he is attracting a lot of attention. You can expect the Walton field house to be very crowded this spring with coaches waiting to watch Kirksey spin the football. One of the schools Kirksey grew up watching closely was Oregon, so hearing from the Ducks is big for him. Michigan is another school has has followed growing up. His favorite quarterback is Peyton Manning.