Tavon Austin

Tavon Austin

refer to caption

Austin with the St. Louis Rams in 2013
No. 11 Los Angeles Rams
Position: Wide receiver / return specialist
Personal information
Date of birth: (1991-03-15) March 15, 1991
Place of birth: Baltimore, Maryland
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 176 lb (80 kg)
Career information
High school: Baltimore (MD) Dunbar
College: West Virginia
NFL draft: 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2015
Receptions: 123
Receiving yards: 1,133
Rushing attempts: 96
Rushing yards: 809
Total return yards: 1,372
Total touchdowns: 19
Player stats at NFL.com

Tavon Wesley Austin (born March 15, 1991) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was widely considered one of the top prospects at his position, and was drafted by the Rams eighth overall in the 2013 NFL Draft.[1][2] He played college football at West Virginia and received All-American honors twice.

Early years

Austin attended Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland, where he played football, basketball and ran track. In football, he played running back, leading Dunbar High to three consecutive Class 1A state titles. As a senior, he had 2,660 yards rushing on 218 carries with 34 touchdowns, while also returning 12 punts for 446 yards and two scores. He was a Two-time Maryland Consensus Offensive Player of the Year and Consensus first team All-state. He set state records for career points (790), touchdowns (123), total offensive yards (9,258) and rushing yards (7,962). In track & field, Austin competed as a sprinter and jumper. He ran a career-best time of 11.47 seconds in the 100 meters at the 2009 1A North Region Meet.[3] He was also a member of the Dunbar 400m relay squad.[4]

College career

Austin enrolled in West Virginia University, where he played for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team from 2009 to 2012. He was converted into a wide receiver as a freshman in 2009.[5] During his freshman season he had 15 receptions for 151 yards with a touchdown and also rushed for 47 yards on six carries with a touchdown and scored a touchdown on a kick return. As a sophomore in 2010 he had 58 receptions for 787 yards and a team leading eight touchdowns. He also had 15 rushing attempts for 159 yards and a touchdown.

As a junior in 2011 Austin had 100 receptions for 1,180 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 189 rushing yards on 18 carries and another touchdown. He also returned two kicks for touchdowns. He was named a first team All-American by CBS.[6] During the Mountaineers 70-33 win in the 2012 Orange Bowl, he set an Orange Bowl record with four touchdown receptions.[7] He was the 2012 All-Purpose Performer of the Year as announced by the College Football Performance Awards association.[8]

College Statistics

Receiving

Regular and postseason

WVU Receiving Stats
Season Games Rec. Yards Avg. TD
2009 33 15 151 10.1 1
2010 13 58 787 13.6 8
2011 13 101 1186 11.7 8
2012 13 114 1289 11.3 12
Total 52 2883,413 11.9 29

[9]

Rushing

Regular and postseason

WVU Rushing Stats
Season Carries Yards Avg. TD
2009 6 47 7.8 1
2010 16 161 10.1 1
2011 16182 11.4 1
2012 726438.9 3
Total 110 1,0339.4 6

Returns

Regular and postseason

WVU Return Stats
Season Punt Ret. PR Yards PR TD Kick Ret. KR Yards KR TD
2009 0 0 0 17 426 1
2010 0 0 0 12 230 0
2011 19 2680 36 938 2
2012 15 1651 32 813 1
Total 34 4331 97 2,407 4

Professional career

2013 NFL Combine

Pre-draft measurables
Ht WtArm lengthHand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
5 ft 8 in 174 lb30 in9 1/8 in 4.34 s 1.50 s 2.49 s 4.01 s 32 in 10 ft 0 in 14 reps
All values from NFL combine[10]

2013 NFL Draft

Austin was selected by the St. Louis Rams with the 8th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. The Rams traded up from pick 16 with the Buffalo Bills in order to select Austin. The Rams also selected former West Virginia wide receiver Stedman Bailey later in the third round of the draft, reuniting the teammates in the NFL.

St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams

2013

On June 13, 2013, Austin signed a 4-year, $12.751 million contract. The deal included a $7.653 million signing bonus. During his first year in the NFL, Austin played 13 games with 151 rushing yards (on 9 carries), 418 receiving yards, and 678 return yards on 51 combined return opportunities during kick and punt returns.

During Week 10, in a game at the Indianapolis Colts, Austin would have a breakout performance that would end up being the best of his rookie campaign. In a 38-8 rout, Austin only had two receptions, but they totaled 138 receiving yards and were both touchdowns. He also ran the ball once for four yards. Austin also returned 5 combined kicks and punts for a total of 172 yards, including a 98 yard punt return touchdown. Austin would be named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, and would eventually become the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Month as well.

Austin's 98 yard punt return touchdown was widely considered to be one of the best plays of the 2013 season, as it checked in at number 31 on the NFL's Top 100 Plays of 2013 list.

2014

Austin's receiving yards in 2014 dropped down to 242 yards from his 418 yards. Austin continued to excel as a returner as he was named a Pro Bowl alternate as a returner behind Devin Hester and Darren Sproles. [11] His 391 punt return yards ranked 3rd in the NFL in 2014--only behind DeAnthony Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs and Sproles. [12]

Similarly to his 98 yard punt return during his rookie season, Austin was part of another huge special teams play during the 2014 season as well. During the second quarter of a Week 7 game vs. the division rival Seattle Seahawks, a game in which the Rams were already up 14-3, Austin was the designated punt return man on a play. He acted as if he was calling for a fair catch, but what the Seahawks' punt coverage team didn't know was that they were being fooled. The ball had actually been punted to the opposite side of the field, where fellow wideout and special teamer Stedman Bailey was preparing to return the punt. With the entire Seattle coverage team focused on Austin, Bailey was left with a wide-open field and returned the punt 90 yards for a touchdown. The Rams would go on to pull off an upset win by defeating their rivals 28-26. The play would help the Rams win another weekly special teams award, as Bailey won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 7. The Rams actually used more special teams trickery to win the game as well; with less than two minutes left in the game, punter Johnny Hekker completed a pass to running back Benny Cunningham on a fake punt attempted on a fourth down. The trick punt return touchdown was too considered to be one of the best of the season, as it was ranked among the Top 5 Plays of the Year at the 4th Annual NFL Honors.

2015

Austin had arguably his best season in 2015. He posted career highs in receptions (52), receiving yards (473), and receiving touchdowns (5). Austin further proved to be a dynamic player on offense as he ran the ball 52 times for 434 yards and 4 touchdowns.[13] After a Thursday Night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Austin became the first player to score at least five receiving touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, and a punt return touchdown in a single season since Gale Sayers did so for the Chicago Bears in 1965.[14]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1664558/tavon-austin
  2. ↑ http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=89477&draftyear=2013&genpos=WR
  3. ↑ http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=83995#18867
  4. ↑ https://www.trackingfootball.com/players/tavon-austin-4322/
  5. ↑ Tavon Austin zooms to the top
  6. ↑ Tavon Austin earning All-America honors
  7. ↑ West Virginia makes history in Orange Bowl rout of Clemson
  8. ↑ http://www.wvusports.com/blogs.cfm?blog=footballBlog&story=22643
  9. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/tavon-austin-1.html
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/155777/janoris-jenkins-tavon-austin-are-pro-bowl-alternates
  12. ↑ http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerPuntReturn/seasontype/2
  13. ↑ http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/15786/tavon-austin
  14. ↑ http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/st-louis-rams-tavon-austin-todd-gurley-tampa-bay-buccaneers-121715

External links

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