Coaches in the Southland Conference are starting to take notice of Nederland running back Austin Krautz … not that he hadn’t impressed before.

“I kind of got recruited late,” the senior said Saturday, one day after leading Nederland to a dramatic 30-27 win over Port Neches-Groves. “I didn’t know if I wanted to play college football until earlier this year.”

Krautz announced on Twitter shortly after midnight Saturday that he received his first football scholarship offer from Lamar. He added that he’s been in contact with Southeastern Louisiana and that Stephen F. Austin has been talking with one of his coaches. All three universities compete in the Southland.

“It’s incredible,” Krautz said. “It’s something I worked for, to get a scholarship to play ball.”

It’s also interesting that Krautz hadn’t been offered until the eighth week of the season. He had 130 yards on 28 carries against PN-G and entered the week second in District 22-5A with 1,040 yards on 118 carries, averaging 8.81 yards per carry and 148.6 yards per game.

As a junior, he scored 17 touchdowns and had 1,103 yards on 169 rushes, trailing only current McNeese State linebacker Sage Seay on the team. Seay was a quarterback for Nederland.

Krautz’s smash-mouth, downhill running style is similar to that of Lamar standout Kade Harrington, the reigning STATS Football Championship Subdivision Player of the Week who rushed for a Southland-record 347 yards last Saturday against Abilene Christian. But Krautz said he began to realize the opportunity for a football scholarship this past summer, when he went to some football camps.

“Someone told me it was possible, so I tried to do it,” Krautz said.

Although he has just one offer in tow, Krautz said he’s more concerned about leading the Bulldogs to a fifth straight 22-5A championship and building a big playoff run. Nederland hasn’t been past the second round in 5A since reaching the regional final in 2012, when Krautz was a freshman.