'09 MD ATH Tavon Austin (West Virginia Verbal)

[osugrad21]

'09 MD ATH Tavon Austin



Running back
Baltimore (MD) Dunbar
Ht: 5-foot-8
Wt: 156 lbs
Class: 2009 (High School)

Link (Free Video)

The next big thing?


Wearing slightly faded jeans that hang low but comfortably over white sneakers, Tavon Austin glides through the busy hallway of Dunbar High.

Under his left arm, he carries a notebook and a binder. On his wrists are names tattooed in dark, cursive lettering. His grandmother's name, Louann, is on his right wrist. His mother's name, Cathy, is on his left.

Girls walk up to him and pull at his oversized hoodie, which drapes loosely over a lime-green collared polo shirt. They giggle as they say his name. He can't help but smile.

Farther down the hall, some football players lean casually against dark blue, rusting lockers. The afternoon sun shines through and illuminates their laughing faces.

When Austin approaches the group, he blends in easily, trading barbs and slapping hands with friends. Austin is soft-spoken, but when he talks, everyone listens.

It's good to be Tavon Austin.

College coaches are enamored of Dunbar's superstar running back, and they hope to bring his skills and speed to their campuses in 2009.

Cont...

Tavon realizes it is early in the process, but he calls Maryland, WVU, FSU, and Clemson his early favorites.

YouTube - Tavon Austin ( Dunbar High School ) 2007

RP Discussion Links:

[GoRU]

Rivals $

2/15

Maryland, Rutgers, Virginia, BC, and Penn State have offered. Thinks Tennessee will offer soon.

[wadc45]

Rivals $

3/2

From O&B News...Illinois has offered. Visiting PSU this weekend and wants to see Illinois, Notre Dame, Virginia and Boston College. Talks about his contact with Coach Locksley.

[GoRU]

Rivals $

3/26

Top five is Penn State, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Illinois.

[GoRU]

baltimoresun.com - Recruiting Report: Busy spring for Dunbar football recruits

Dunbar football coach Lawrence Smith knew this was coming.

After leading the Poets to the 1A state championship last fall, Smith knew the college recruiters would come calling for his players. But did he know it would be this crazy?

“My phone bill’s been off the hook with these coaches calling,” Smith said.

Of course the main attraction to Dunbar has been running back Tavon Austin, The Sun’s All-Metro offensive player of the year.

According to Smith, Austin has picked up scholarship offers from Maryland, Boston College, Rutgers, Virginia, West Virginia, Syracuse, Penn State, Illinois and South Carolina.

Austin’s been to Junior Day events at Maryland, Penn State and West Virginia, but Smith says he’s not close to making a decision.

“Not ‘till next year,” Smith said of Austin’s timeline for picking a school. “His mom’s looking at every school closely and they’ll go from there.”

Handling the recruiting process has been a new experience for Smith, who replaced legendary Poets coach Ben Eaton after his untimely death last August. For Smith, two things have made coordinating recruiting for his players easier.

“Tavon’s really been opening up the doors for a lot of the other guys,” Smith said. “I’ve also been consulting Bob Wade a lot. He’s really helped me out a lot with this process. He’s really helped me out. But Tavon is an All-American, and like I said, Tavon’s opening doors to see other guys. Coaches, they look at his film and are like, ‘Whoa, who are these other guys?’”

Some of the other guys include wide receiver Sean Farr, quarterback Jonathan Perry, linebacker Tevin Brown and linebacker Gary Onuekwusi. All are juniors, each receiving DI interest.

Farr could be the next Poet to receive an offer.

“He hasn’t received an official offer yet, but he’s getting highly recruited by Virginia, Maryland and Syracuse,” Smith said.

There had been some talk that Perry could be brought in as an ‘athlete’ recruit, but Smith said all the talk from college coaches has been for the quarterback position.

“He’s had high recruiting interest from West Virginia,” Smith said. “He visited them for their Junior Day. Maryland has high interest in Jonathan, and also Syracuse.”

As for the two linebackers, Brown has visited West Virginia and Maryland and has been receiving interest from Syracuse, while Onuekwusi is hearing from Maryland, Syracuse and James Madison.

“There’s been really close interest in all these guys,” Smith said. “[Coaches have] told me after spring ball that a lot of these guys will probably be receiving offers.”

Until then, Smith will keep sending out film to schools, prepping for next season in hopes of defending Dunbar’s crown, and undoubtedly watching his phone bill continue to rise.

[HotMic]

Scout (FREE)

3/27

By B. Lichtenfels.

Everyone remembers the first time they saw the Noel Devine highlight films on the internet. It was like something we had not seen before. Watching Tavon Austin in person evoked some of those memories for us.
Continued...

[GoRU]

baltimoresun.com - Varsity Letters: Michigan makes offer to Dunbar's Austin

Tavon Austin, Dunbar’s senior running back who holds the state career touchdown record of 92, has just picked up another football scholarship offer. Michigan has offered Austin a scholarship, Dunbar coach Lawrence Smith confirmed yesterday. The offer brings the total amount of scholarships offered to Austin to 12.

The Wolverines would bring Austin in to play running back. Every school that Austin is considering wants him to play running back or on the offensive side of the ball, Smith said.

Other schools that have made scholarship offers to Austin include: Maryland, Penn State, Illinois, South Carolina, West Virginia, Nebraska, Boston College, Rutgers, Virginia, Syracuse and Wake Forest.

[GoRU]

Star search -- baltimoresun.com

School. Track. Junior Days. Spring games. SATs. Official visits. Summer workouts. The start of the 2008 football season. Narrowing the list of colleges to five. Going for another state football championship. Making a college choice.

Over the next 10 months, that's my schedule. Go to school and track practice five days a week. I've been visiting some schools for their Junior Days - which is when colleges invite some of the top junior football players in the country. I try to ask them as many questions about their school as possible.

So far, I've taken Junior Day visits to Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers and West Virginia. Dunbar football coach Lawrence Smith said that those schools and Michigan, South Carolina, Nebraska, Illinois, Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia and Wake Forest have all made scholarship offers.

A lot of schools want me to go to their spring games this month, but I haven't decided which ones I'll go to yet. I'll also be training - doing the same type of speed and explosion drills that I've always done - but I'm focusing on putting on more muscle, so I'll be hitting the weights a little harder. (Editor's note: Austin is 5 feet 9, 160 pounds).

I've been taking SAT prep courses since last season, and I finally take the test in May. In the summer, I'll be going on official visits with my mother, Cathy Green. She, Coach Smith and my cousin Aaron Thompson are all helping me with the decision.

My mother told me that she wants me go to where I fit in and feel comfortable. She wants to make sure I have people I can go to if anything happens and who care about my education and don't just use me for football. She wants me to get a degree and an education using football. Talking to Aaron helps, too.

He is a Mount St. Joseph graduate who played linebacker at Maryland on a football scholarship from 1997 to 2001. He told me that "the name of the school alone doesn't make it right for you. The hype, the history of the school, how many wins they had last year, all of those things play a factor, but the main question is: How do I fit in? How can this school make me better than who I am today?"

Coach Smith fields calls from college coaches and helps me sort out what schools are interested and what schools I should visit.

He said he has "received calls from USC, Cal, UCLA, Texas, Texas A&M, Nebraska ... you name it. Kansas, Kansas State, Florida, Miami, Florida State ... every college in the country has called and plans on stopping by here in May to basically see what's going on."

This next year will be busy, but at least my teammates are going through the recruiting process with me. After watching my game film, college coaches are starting to see how much overall talent we have on our team.

With the help from my mother, Aaron and Coach Smith, I'll try to narrow my choices down to five schools by the start of the 2008 season. I'd like to have an idea of where I want to go as early as possible, so when the season starts, I can concentrate on one thing:

Winning our third straight state championship.

[HotMic]

Scout $

4/16

From the Michigan site. Interview with Austin's coach, who says Tavon is being looked at as a RB and/or slot WR. Distance will not be a factor, but his coach does mention that he has a cousin who played at Maryland that has been a huge part of Austin's life.

[wadc45]

Rivals $

4/23

From BWI...Tavon's uncle talks about the visit last weekend and says he plans to have Tavon visit PSU again when class is in session. Has been to West Virginia and Penn State and plans to visit South Carolina and Michigan.

[GoRU]

Beaver bliss -- baltimoresun.com

Last Saturday, my family and I went to Penn State for its spring game, and I had a great time.

I went with my mother, Cathy, my cousin Aaron, my uncle Charles Green and my grandmother Louann Green. They call their spring game, "The Blue/White Game," and the weather and atmosphere were amazing.

I was up there with about 50 other recruits. I've seen a few of their faces before, but I didn't really recognize many of them. I didn't get to talk to any of them, but I'm more concerned with meeting and talking to some of the current players. I want to know how it really is playing for their school.

When I got there, we went into Beaver Stadium and I love it already. It's huge and holds like 100,000 people (Editor's note: Beaver Stadium has a capacity of 107,282, making it the largest football stadium in the country), and it gets pretty loud in there. The fans were all screaming and it seems like a great place to play.

They took me and the other recruits through the tunnel that the players run through before games, and I have to be honest, I had some butterflies. It almost felt like I was playing.

The entire atmosphere of the weekend was great, too. People were tailgating everywhere, and I was shocked to see how much the students and fans care about their school.

The coaching staff talked to me and introduced themselves to my mother. I talked to coach Joe Paterno, and he always shows me love when I go there. He talks about grades and stresses that I keep them up. They also said that no spots on the team are guaranteed, so if I show up to practice and perform well, I could play early.

Who I really like is (assistant coach-defensive line coach) Larry Johnson Sr. He really talks to my mother and lets me and her know how I fit in. He says that they have effective ways to utilize the way I move and my speed, and he really makes Penn State feel like a home already.

My mother liked the school, too, but she likes it more for the academics. She's much more concerned with a school's academics than its football program.

The big play of the game was when redshirt freshman running back Stephfon Green had a 57-yard touchdown run. It was a good run; he really broke it open and he's really fast. There was some good blocking up front, but he broke a tackle, so I thought that was good. He's smaller too, but he's still a little bit bigger than me (Editor's note: Green is listed at 5 feet 10, 189 pounds; Austin is 5-9, 160).

We left in the third quarter, but the fans showed me love even when I was leaving. A few people even asked for my autograph. It really made me feel like I was "big-time" already.

Oh, and Penn State even has an ice cream named after JoePa, named "Peachy Paterno." Unfortunately, I didn't get to have any on this trip.

[GoRU]

Georgia on his mind after Bulldogs offer chance to be receiver -- baltimoresun.com

Last week I got an offer from Georgia. It's the second Southeastern Conference offer I've received so far, with the other one coming from South Carolina.

Right now, all the schools are kind of the same to me since I haven't gotten the chance to really visit any of them yet. What makes the Bulldogs' offer a little different is that they're recruiting me as a slot receiver.

Most of the other schools that have recruited me want me to play running back, but I wouldn't mind playing receiver. I think my best talents are when I have the ball in my hands, so I'm just hoping to play on the offensive side of the ball in college.

The SEC is known for producing some of the best NFL-ready players, and I think it's one of the strongest conferences in college football. I'm not really worrying about any of that, though. I want to choose a school based on how I feel and where I feel the most comfortable.

The biggest thing about the SEC is that it's known for having players with a lot of speed, which plays to my strengths. Some coaches say that my body can't take the pounding to be a college running back (Editor's note: Austin is 5 feet 9, 160 pounds).

I say, look at [Tampa Bay running back] Warrick Dunn. He went to Florida State, and he was small. I think it's all about heart.

With Georgia offering, I think that other bigger schools are going to start contacting me. Coach Smith says, "I know a lot of other schools are starting to show a lot more interest. I know Florida and Ohio State, a lot of the national powers in football, are starting to jump into the mix. The one good thing about his family, they're basically looking at every avenue. The family's not just looking at you because you played in the BCS bowl or whatever. They're looking at the best place for him to go and get a quality education and play football."

I'm still in track season, but I'll get to do some more football-related work soon. I'm attending the Nike Football Training Camp at Penn State on May 10.

The camp has drills like one-on-ones, cone drills, throwing a weighted ball, running with a parachute. ... There's no 40-yard dash or shuttle run, though. I've been to camps like this, and college coaches normally attend them, but this year, due to a new NCAA rule, no college coaches are going to be there.

I'm looking forward to it, and I'm looking forward to hearing from more coaches this month.

[wadc45]

Scout.com: Austin Getting Used to National Attention

By Jeff Ermann
TurtleSportsReport.com Editor
Posted May 13, 2008

Running back Tavon Austin of Dunbar High in Baltimore has been highly touted locally for some time, the result of his prodigious accumulation of statistics and championships. But only recently has Austin's name begun to show up frequently on the national recruiting radar. It's a new experience for Austin, who's being helped through the process by his cousin, former Terps linebacker Aaron Thompson.

Continued...

[GoRU]

One-on-one drills at camp fun despite NCAA absence -- -- baltimoresun.com

Last Saturday I went to Penn State for its Nike Football Training Camp. I was at the camp last year, but this year was a little different.

For one, there were no college coaches there because of new NCAA rules. I actually liked last year better when pretty much every college coach you could name was there, because you could get more recognition for what you did. This year's event was still fun, though.

I went to the camp with my offensive coordinator, Coach Travis [Blackston], and my teammates -- [linebacker] Tevin Brown and [wide receiver] Sean Farr. I saw a couple of players from River Hill there, too, including [Wake Forest-bound] Mike Campanaro, and I said "what's up" to them.

We did a lot of drills at the camp. For a lot of the time, we were separated by position, so most of the drills I did were with the running backs. We did cone drills and ladder drills, and then we did some blocking and one-on-one drills with the linebackers.

The one-on-one drills were my favorite, especially this drill where the running back takes a sweep and tries to beat a linebacker. Most of the time, I was making the linebacker miss.

I didn't get to see a lot of Sean's play, but I did see Tevin, and he played really well. He was even lined up on me for a passing drill, and when the ball was thrown he knocked it down. He didn't say anything about it afterward, but he did give me "that look." It's good going to these camps with my teammates. It puts them out there, too, and gives them a chance to get some scholarships.

I thought I did well at the camp, and would've liked to win the MVP. The boy they gave it to [Kayvon Spriggs of H.D. Woodson] was good, though. I like the camps, but the main reason I go to them is that I want to play in some all-star games. The game I really want to play in is the U.S. Army All-American Bowl [to be played Jan. 3, 2009]. They're still selecting, but they've narrowed it down to the top 150, and I'm on the list, so hopefully I'll get selected.

Other than that, I'm still running track, and I think it's helping my speed. I took the SATs May 3, and I think I did OK. I don't think I should have to worry about them since my GPA is going up.

Coach Smith said I just got an offer from Pittsburgh. He said, "[Wide receivers] Coach [Bryan] Bossard was the one recruiting him. Basically, they say he's a playmaker and they want to see if they can bring him in and change the program." The next scheduled camp I'm going to is West Virginia's football camp June 29. I'm going with Coach Smith and some of my teammates.

[wadc45]

Rivals $

5/28

From the Maryland site...talks about how much Maryland feels like home and how much he likes the Terps. Says he is getting the most attention from Maryland, West Virginia and Boston College. Will camp at Maryland, West Virginia, Penn State and Pittsburgh this summer.