Signing day for the 2028 recruiting class is still a long way away, but a quarterback in that class has already started to get a good bit of attention from college coaches. Leading your team to a Georgia state title as a freshman will do that.

That quarterback's name is Trace Hawkins, and the young signal-caller played well beyond his years in 2024 to help lead the Calhoun Yellow Jackets to a 12-3 season and the Class AAA state championship thanks to a 20-7 win over Jefferson at Mercedes-Benz Stadium back in the finals in December.

Since the end of that championship run, Hawkins' recruitment has hit another gear as he's been on several visits in the past few months and picked up offers from Auburn, Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Georgia State and Gardner-Webb. Despite the attention he's gotten already from college coaches, Hawkins is treating his recruitment the same way he plays on the field...calm, cool and collected.

"Yeah, we're kind of at the beginning. Not letting everything get to me," said Hawkins during a recent interview following a spring practice session at Calhoun. "Just seeing how it plays out and seeing what the future holds."

That same kind of poise is the way he carries himself on the field as he plays like an experienced, veteran starter rather than a teenager who hasn't even gotten his driver's license yet. His numbers during his freshman season show that as Hawkins finished with 1,893 yards passing on 149-of-217 attempts with 23 touchdowns and only one interception. He also had 69 rushing attempts for 310 yards and four touchdowns. Throwing only one interception as a first-time freshman starter tells you all you need to know about his ability both physically and mentally, but Hawkins said being relaxed on the field and letting the game come to him is just the way he plays.

"I feel like if you're tense in the pocket then a bunch of stuff is going to come at you, but I feel like you just need to be calm and cool back there and let it all play out," said Hawkins.

Despite having no particular order of top schools at this point of his recruitment, Hawkins said he has enjoyed building a big of a connection with a few of the quarterback coaches who have been in contact with him.

"Still sorting everything out right now, but definitely Coach (Jonathan) Brewer from Duke (has stood out to me some). We have a really good connection," said Hawkins. "Coach (Ryan) O'Hara down in Florida made a really good connection. And with Georgia Tech, I've been tight with the coaches already, and Coach (Chris) Weinke has talked to me. I just went to their scrimmage not too long ago, and it was a pretty good scrimmage. They've got a good quarterback room. I like how they use their quarterbacks. They do a little bit of everything. "But still, like I said, I'm going to see how everything comes and see what all comes in."

When asked about his expectations for himself next season, Hawkins quickly turned the attention to talking about his team and what he thinks they can accomplish in 2025.

"I feel like we lost a few people, a couple seniors, but we still basically have the same team back. So I feel like we can stay working in practice every day, all day and have a chance of getting right back there to that state championship," said Hawkins.

Hawkins did have one priority as far as what he wants to work on this summer to be better prepared to lead his team during his sophomore campaign.

"I feel like footwork in the pocket...that's everything," said Hawkins. "You've got to have footwork to produce in whatever else you do. So I feel like footwork in the pocket is the biggest thing I need to work on."

While many recruits these days will make an early commitment as a sophomore or junior after getting the offers they are looking for, when asked if he wanted to speed up the process by pledging to a certain school and locking in a spot in the 2028 class, Hawkins had this to say:

"No, I'm going to wait. I'm going to wait to see what all comes in. I don't want to rush anything," said Hawkins.