Tavon Austin

Tavon Wesley Austin (born March 15, 1990) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent.

He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, receiving first-team All-American honors twice.

The Rams also selected former West Virginia wide receiver Stedman Bailey later in the third round of the draft with the 92nd overall pick, reuniting the teammates in the National Football League (NFL).

He ran a career-best time of 11.47 seconds in the 100 meters at the 2009 1A North Region Meet.

He was also a member of the Dunbar 400m relay squad.

Austin accepted a football scholarship from West Virginia University, where he played for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team from 2009 to 2012.

His primary position was changed to wide receiver as a freshman in 2009, but he still occasionally was used as a running back.

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 Sports.

During the Mountaineers 70–33 win in the 2012 Orange Bowl, he set an Orange Bowl record with four touchdown receptions.

As a senior in 2012, he finished with 114 receptions for 1,289 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns to go along with 643 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

In addition, he had 32 kick returns for 813 net return yards and a kick return touchdown and 15 punt returns for 165 net return yards and a punt return touchdown.

On November 17, in a game against the Oklahoma Sooners, Austin posted a career-high 572 all-purpose yards - 344 rushing yards, 82 receiving yards, and an additional 146 yards on kick returns.

Despite his efforts, West Virginia would lose the game in the final seconds, 50-49.

He was the 2012 All-Purpose Performer of the Year as announced by the College Football Performance Awards association.

He was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Austin was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

He 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.

Austin was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the first round (8th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.

The Rams traded up from pick 16 with the Buffalo Bills in order to select Austin.

On June 13, 2013, Austin signed a four-year, $12.751 million rookie 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 nine carries), 418 receiving yards, and 678 return yards on 51 combined return opportunities during kick and punt returns.

In Week 10, against the Indianapolis Colts, Austin had a breakout performance that ended 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 five kicks and punts for a total of 172 yards, including a 98-yard punt return touchdown.

Austin was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, and eventually became the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Month as well.

Austin's receiving yards in the 2014 season dropped down to 242 yards from his 418 yards in 2013.

Austin continued to excel as a returner as he was named a Pro Bowl alternate as a returner behind Devin Hester and Darren Sproles.