LSU entered Tuesday with 1 scholarship quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier, available for the Texas Bowl vs. Kansas State. His backup on the 2-deep depth chart released to the media by the team was walk-on Tavion Faulk.

But the Tigers will instead turn to Jontre Kirklin to start at quarterback, it announced prior to the contest:

Kirkin has made 4 catches for 49 yards and played in 8 games for the Tigers this year. In 2020, he made 13 catches for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns.

As a freshman and sophomore, Kirklin received reps as a defender, including in the defensive backfield in 2018. But to this point, he’s not been called upon to throw a pass in a Tigers uniform—until Tuesday, that is.

He threw for 7,468 yards and 97 touchdowns during his high school career, including 2,543 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior. He was also a 3,000-yard rusher during his tenure as he registered back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons as a junior and senior.