Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia Mountaineers: 2013 NFL Draft Player Profile

December 1, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Tavon Austin (1) carries the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the third quarter at Milan Puskar Field. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 59-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Height:  5’9″

Weight:  174 pounds

Position Rank:

Drafted By: St. Louis Rams (1st round, 8th overall)

40 Yard Dash:  4.34

Vertical Jump:  32″

Broad Jump:  120″

Career Stats

Scouting Report/Player Notes

Quick, shifty, jack-of-all-trades wide receiver prospect who can do so many things to help your football team. Really, he reminds me a lot of a DeSean Jackson type of receiver. He is so fast and so elusive in the open field, but he isn’t very big so he likely won’t be a first round pick. At the next level, that really won’t matter. He is going to make an impact at the next level if he can stay healthy. When you watch him play, he reaches second and third gear at an incredible rate. When this guy hits the open field, he is nearly impossible to track down. He looks like a pinball moving around on the football field. As a junior, he had a team-leading 101 receptions for 1,186 yards and eight touchdowns, but he also added over 100 yards rushing with a touchdown on the ground, and 938 kick return yards with two more touchdowns there. He averaged an astounding 26 yards per kick return. For as compact as he is, he is actually really strong and has great balance near the sidelines. Strangely, he has had some problems fielding punts, but if he ever figures that out, he could be extremely dangerous there as well. Basically, this is a player you want to get the ball in open space as much as possible. He has so many skills in the open field, and he has great breakaway speed.

Career Highlights (via WVU athletics site)

2011 (Jr.)
– Started at wide receiver in 2010
– Moved to inside receiver during 2011 spring
– Handled kickoff and punt return duties
– Named first team All-American return specialist by CBSSports.com and Phil Steele and third team by Associated Press
– Big East Special Teams Player of the Year
– West Virginia Offensive Player of the Year (coaching staff)
– First Team All-Big East (ESPN.com, Coaches, Phil Steele) as a wide receiver and return specialist
– Named to Yahoo! Sports, CBSSports.com and collegefootballnews.com’s all-bowl teams as a wide receiver
– Named to ESPN.com’s all-bowl team as an all-purpose player
– Led the nation in all-purpose yardage, averaging 198.0 ypg
– Finished 2011 with 101 catches, a WVU single-season record
– One of two receivers to have 100 or more catches in Big East Conference history
– One of four WVU receivers to finish with 1,000 or more receiving yards in a season (1,186)
– Ranked No. 8 in the NCAA, No. 2 in the Big East, in receptions (7.8 p/g), and No. 23 in the nation, No. 3 in the Big East, in receiving yards (91.2 yds/g)
– Also ranked No. 4 in the conference in scoring TDs (5.1 ppg)
– Ranked No. 6 nationally, No. 1 in the Big East, in punt returns (14.1) and No. 20 in kickoff returns (26.6)
– Caught an Orange Bowl and BCS record four touchdowns on 12 receptions, also a bowl record, in win over Clemson; his four TD catches were a WVU bowl and school record, while his 12 catches tied a school record
– Four TDs against Clemson were a career high and set WVU bowl record for points in a game(24)
– Finished with 123 receiving yards against Clemson, fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season and the seventh of his career
– Tallied a game-best and Orange Bowl record 280 all-purpose yards, including 117 on kick returns with a long return of 36 yards.
– Caught a game-best seven catches at USF; also netted a game-best 208 all-purpose yards
– 90-yard kickoff return for a TD at USF, second kickoff return for a TD on the season and third in his career
– Caught a game-best 10 passes for 102 yards, also a game best, in win over Pitt
– Caught a nine-yard pass to convert a critical fourth-and-six in fourth quarter on game-winning drive vs. Panthers
– Grabbed a game-best nine passes for 126 yards, also a game high, at Cincinnati; also had a game-best 249 all-purpose yards
– Three kickoff returns at Cincinnati for 67 yards, including a long of 28 yards and had three punt returns for 50 yards with a long of 26 yards
– Scored his second TD in as many games against Louisville with a 25-yard reception on game’s opening drive
– Tallied a game-best 271 all-purpose yards in UofL game, including five kickoff returns for 161 yards with a long return of 39 yards
– Exploded for a game-best 163 all-purpose yards in tough conditions at Rutgers, including a career best 80-yard touchdown run, WVU’s longest rush from scrimmage in 2011 and longest since Noel Devine scored on an 88-yard run against Pitt on Nov. 27, 2009
– Also tallied a game-best eight catches and 67 receiving yards for one score at Rutgers
– Had 120 all-purpose yards at Syracuse, including 60 receiving yards on six catches
– Connected with Geno Smith on a 12-yard pass against UConn that sparked WVU’s 23-point third quarter; finished with a team-best seven catches
– Caught a game-high 11 passes for 187 yards, also a game- and career-best, against LSU;yardage was eighth-best single game total in WVU history
– Finished with 287 all-purpose yards against LSU, the sixth-best WVU single-game total and the No. 27 single-game mark in NCAA in 2011
– Six kickoff returns vs.LSU for 100 yards with a long of 26 yards
– Connected with Smith on a career long 72-yard reception against LSU
– Tallied a game-best 122 receiving yards on 11 receptions at Maryland
– One of three players to finish with moiré than 100 yards receiving at Maryland, the first time three players netted at least 100 yards on catches in WVU history and the first time since 1998 WVU had multiple 100-yard receivers
– Six kickoff returns for 121 yards at Maryland with a long return of 27 yards
– Caught a team-best six passes and collected a game-high 193 all-purpose yards, including 82 receiving yards, against Norfolk State
– Connected on a three-yard pass with Smith against Norfolk State for first offensive TD of 2011
– Had a game-best 190 all-purpose yards in season-opening win over Marshall; including being one of only six Mountaineers to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown

Video Highlights (via YouTube)