'09 MD ATH Tavon Austin (Official Offer)

[HotMic]

Originally Posted by PSU42Fan

Well, not as bad as Clarett baggage...

ZING!!!!!!!!!!!

[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.

[PSU42Fan]

I can't believe we have a shot at this kid. He, and a handful of other big-name prospects, are our only chance at a decent recruiting class. Hopefully he verbals early enough to encourage some others to join him.

[SCH28]

If the reports are true, and we are going to be using a spread offense, Austin fits the mold quite well. People have been saying that he is West Virginia bound, but I think he will get serious playing time right away here. Him and Tate would look good together as our future of our offense.

[AustinScottistheone]

He isn't likely to make an early decision, pretty sure he is going to take it slow...which is better for Penn State anyway. A bunch of schools may try to get in late but academically WVU can't compete with Penn State; if the offense is successful it should be pretty hard for him to say no to Penn State. Hopefully Stephfon Green blows up...that would help too.

[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...

[Undercover Brother]

Originally Posted by AustinScottistheone

He isn't likely to make an early decision, pretty sure he is going to take it slow...which is better for Penn State anyway. A bunch of schools may try to get in late but academically WVU can't compete with Penn State; if the offense is successful it should be pretty hard for him to say no to Penn State. Hopefully Stephfon Green blows up...that would help too.

WVU might be out of this. It's probably getting a verbal from Porzel. No way do Austin and Porzel both land in Morgantown. Once Porzel's verbal becomes known, WVU is probably out which is the only school I was concerned with.