What Is The 411 On Miles Austin? Oct 31, 2009 | More

Stories about little-known, undrafted college football players who step out of the shadows of obscurity and into the bright lights of National Football League fame always have appealed to me. Such sagas are indicative of the American Dream and remind the know-it-all NFL general managers and scouts that they occasionally overlook talent at the smaller colleges. Although I am not ready to say Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin is cruising down the highway of success, the 25-year-old has definitely found the on-ramp after toiling away for three years in the Cowboys organization.

THE AUSTIN ACCOUNT

Miles J. Austin was born June 30, 1984, in Summit, N.J. The athletically gifted Austin was readily known for his prowess in basketball and track at Garfield High School, but his Boilermakers football career did not start until he was a junior. Here is the story: Garfield High School teacher and football coach Steve Mucha had tried unsuccessfully for two years to get Austin to join his team. Austin thought Mucha hated him for some reason, which is probably why Austin had avoided all things football (if a coach truly hated you, why would he want you to play for him?) When Austin showed up late one day for Mucha’s class, the teacher gave him a pass to go into class, instead of a detention, which was the usual school punishment for lateness. Austin returned the favor by joining the varsity football team five games into the season. Playing both wide receiver and defensive back, success on the prep gridiron came easily for Austin thanks to his unique size, speed and big-play skills. Austin also earned county and state honors as a senior (2002) for his football success. He was a two-year varsity letterman in football, basketball and track.

Since Austin’s prep gridiron career was short - half a season as a junior and a full season as a senior - he was not recruited by any of the traditional college football powerhouses. Austin decided to play for the only school that had shown any interest in him - the nearby Division I-AA Monmouth University Hawks (New Jersey). As a three-year starter, the talented Austin continued to thrive. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he led the Hawks in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdowns. In eight games played as a senior, Austin hauled in 51 balls for 1,101 yards and a team record 14 touchdowns. He finished his Monmouth career (2002-2005) as the school’s all-time leader in catches (150), receiving yards (2,867) and touchdowns (33), earning a handful of Northeast Conference honors.

THE NFL YEARS

Most of the major NFL Draft preview publications had pegged Austin as a sixth- or seventh-round talent.

The Austin Pre-Draft Profile

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 215 pounds

40-Yard Dash: 4.47

Positives: Big, durable athletic receiver with speed who was a matchup nightmare for most Northeast Conference defensive backs, able to gain separation consistently, great hands, racked up tons of yards after the catch, willing to catch over the middle, runs great deep routes.

Negatives: A raw talent that needs development, inconsistent at getting off the line and route running, struggles with blocking, has not been significantly challenged by defensive backs.

Austin, who was not drafted, signed a three-year contract with the Cowboys in June 2006. He became the first player from Monmouth to earn a spot on an NFL regular-season roster.

2006:

As a part-time kickoff returner, Austin finished with 29 returns for 753 yards with a 26-yard average, which was the second-best showing by a rookie in Cowboys history.

Austin returned three kickoffs for 136 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs, which was the second-highest yardage total in team playoff history. He also set Dallas playoff records for kickoff return average (45.3 yards) and longest kickoff return (93 yards - the first kickoff return for a touchdown in Cowboys playoff history).

He did not catch any passes during the regular season.

2007:

Austin finished third in the NFC (No. 9 in the NFL) in kickoff returns with a 25.5 average on 24 attempts for 612 yards and one touchdown as a part-time returner. He returned a kickoff for a career-best 60 yards against the Detroit Lions.

Austin returned six kickoffs for 166 yards against the Green Bay Packers, which was a career-best.

Austin notched his first career pass reception against the New York Jets. He caught five passes for 76 yards and zero touchdowns during the regular season.

2008:

Austin assumed the Cowboys kickoff return role full-time, becoming the 12th player in team history to top 1,500 career kickoff return yards.

He received a little more playing time on offense, finishing the season with 13 catches for 278 yards and three touchdowns. Austin scored his first career receiving touchdown against the Green Bay Packers, which was a career-long 63-yard catch. He racked up two catches for 115 yards in that contest, which was the first time that Austin topped the 100-yard receiving mark in a game.

Heading into the 2009 season, Austin tested the waters in free agency. The Jets gave him a look but did not offer the restricted free agent a contract, probably because they would had to have given the Cowboys a second-round pick if they had signed Austin. He re-signed with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, $1.545 million deal. Absent a new labor agreement, Austin is expected to be a restricted free agent again after this season wraps up.

Despite the release of Terrell Owens, Austin started 2009 as a backup receiver, compiling just five catches for 81 yards and one touchdown through the first four weeks of the season. Filling in for the injured Roy Williams (ribs) against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5, Austin made his first start, compiling a whopping 10 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yard game-winning touchdown reception in overtime. By the way, Austin’s showing in Kansas City shattered former Cowboy Bob Hayes’ 246-yard receiving effort against the Washington Redskins (1966). Austin received another start following Dallas’ bye and he did not disappoint, racking up an impressive six catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7. Heading into Week 8, Austin was the ninth-most productive receiver in the NFL.

AUSTIN ’S FANTASY FORECAST

Will Austin become the next stud fantasy wide receiver? It is possible. Austin’s two starts - the Kansas City game and the Atlanta game - were obviously impressive. The Cowboys are desperate for a wide receiver to step up in the passing game - Roy Williams is not a big-play receiver as team owner Jerry Jones wants everyone to believe - and Austin seems determined to cement himself as the team’s No. 1 wideout. The Cowboys are not shy about putting the ball up as many times as it takes to win a game. Tony Romo seems more than happy to feed the ball to Austin, even if it means ignoring his friend Jason Witten.

However, Austin has come out of nowhere as a receiver. Although he has demonstrated big-play ability as a kickoff returner, Austin had done next to nothing as a receiver to make anyone think that he was capable of such game-breaking performances. Austin’s two big games came against two subpar defenses. The Chiefs defense is ranked No. 30 against the pass and the Falcons defense is ranked No. 21 versus the pass. Following his two mind-blowing performances, opposing defenses are inevitably going to start paying more attention to Austin (hint: lots of double-teams). A large percentage of Austin’s receiving yardage has come after the catch. Will he remain productive against teams with better tacklers? I predict Austin will enjoy his third straight strong outing in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks, because Seattle’s defense does not play well on the road. Austin has upcoming matchups against the tougher defenses of the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 9), the New Orleans Saints (Week 13) and the New York Giants (Week 15) - assuming the Giants defense starts to play better - which will be tests for Austin. It also will be interesting to see how he performs against Oakland Raiders’ shutdown corner Nnamdi Asomugha (Week 12).

If you own Austin and have solid receiver depth, sell high on him if you need to bolster another area of your team. My first thought, however, is to keep Austin and ride his hot streak. Aside from the Eagles, Saints and Giants, the rest of Dallas’ 2009 matchups range from average to very favorable. Since the Cowboys are not deep at the receiver position, they will do everything to help Austin succeed. I honestly think Austin is the real deal.