Christian Kirk is now the latest NFL player with close ties with Bermuda.

The grandson of the late Florence Thomas-Kirk, who lived on North Shore, Pembroke, and taught locally before moving to Indianapolis, was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday.

The 5ft 11in, 200-lb Texas A&M wide receiver received the news surrounded by family and friends at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“It’s just, honestly, all so surreal,” Kirk told Azcentral.com. “A lot of emotions. To have this moment with my family and friends all around me, to be able to come home and play for the home town team. I’m a Valley kid born and raised. When I got that phone call, it was just so surreal. Just no words to be able to describe it.”

Kirk called time on his college career with one year remaining with the Aggies to enter the Draft. He finished second on the school’s all-time reception list with 234 and third all-time in the Southeastern Conference.

His six punt return touchdowns is a school record while he is third both on receiving touchdowns (26) and receiving yards (2,856).

Kirk led Texas A&M in his final season with 71 receptions for 919 yards and ten touchdowns and received first team All-SEC honours as an all-purpose player and second team All-SEC as a wide receiver.

He is expected to be able to contribute immediately as a punt and kick returner with National Football Conference team Cardinals who failed to make the play-offs last season.

“I think he’s ready to play,” Steve Wilks, the Cardinals head coach, said. “The guy’s extremely smart. He understands the game.

“The biggest thing we found out in doing our research on the guy is he puts the time in. He studies the game.”

Former New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce had been the last player in the NFL with close ties with Bermuda before Kirk.

Pierce, whose father is Bermudian, won the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2008 after the Giants produced an upset in Super Bowl XLII to deny the New England Patriots a perfect season.