Hattiesburg junior crashed onto the scene in ‘17. Now, Southern Miss is pursuing him.

Hattiesburg's talented junior quarterback Jarod Conner picked up a Southern Miss offer on Wednesday.

Conner, who is likely to play running back in college, had an outstanding junior campaign while leading the Tigers to a 14-1 record and a spot in the Class 5A state title contest. West Point topped Hattiesburg 41-15 in Oxford for the state championship.

The 5-foot-10, 194-pound Conner was one of the best quarterbacks in the southern half of the in 2017, completing 55.6 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards, 25 touchdowns and five interceptions.

He was often at his most dangerous while running with the ball. He ran 213 times for 1,443 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Conner may have played his best game of the season when he led the Tigers for a late rally in a 41-37 victory at Picayune on Oct. 20. He completed 12 of 25 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns and ran 12 times for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Conner also holds scholarship offers from South Alabama, Tulane and Memphis.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Hattiesburg junior crashed onto the scene in ‘17. Now, Southern Miss is pursuing him.."