| WEB |
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Austin Fact: Austin averaged a knockdown block every 5.3 plays in 2006, best on the team among players who played at least 100 snaps.
Years Lettered: 2006
Bowl Participation: Reserve offensive guard in the 2006 Music City Bowl against Kentucky.
Fall 2007 Depth Chart Position: Second-team offensive guard
Overview: One of the team's most versatile offensive linemen...capable of playing guard or center in 2007...will compete for starting time at guard in 2007...red-shirt freshman offensive guard in 2006 who played 117 snaps in nine games...played every offensive line position during his career at Camden (SC) High School...started for South Carolina in the Shrine Bowl at offensive tackle...ranked as one of the top-10 players in South Carolina as a senior in high school, including the #1 offensive lineman in the state by The State...won Governor's Award for outstanding character in high school...named most improved in the weightroom among offensive guards for the 2007 spring practice...greatly improved in strength; he has improved his bench press from 305 to 410...his 410-pound bench press is eighth-best on the team...sixth on the team with 26 reps of 225 pounds...10th-strongest player on team with 1,520 pounds of total weight lifted in the various categories...has been named to academic honor roll throughout his career.
2006: Had 22 knockdown blocks in 117 snaps, including three intimidation blocks...had his best game against Louisiana Tech when he had a 92-percent grade in 12 plays and had 5.5 knockdown blocks, including two intimidation blocks...saw his most action against Temple when he played 33 snaps; he had a career-high 6.5 knockdown blocks in that game...saw 27 snaps of action against North Carolina and had 2.5 knockdown blocks...saw action in six of the last seven games on offense, including 10 snaps against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl...played 22 snaps in his first career game against Florida Atlantic and had 3.5 knockdown blocks.
2005: Red-shirted...scout team player-of-the-year on offense by the coaching staff...named to the Academic Honor Roll for the fall semester.
Before Clemson: Graded out at over 90 percent as a senior at Camden High School...all-state selection by The State, High School Sports Report, and SCVarsity.com as a senior...Upstate Lineman-of-the-Year as a senior...Shrine Bowl starter at offensive tackle...one of the top-10 players in the Shrine Bowl by Rivals.com...all-county, all-region, and all-area selection as a junior and senior...named to the SuperPrep Mid-Atlantic team as the 11th-best prospect in South Carolina...all-region and all-area as a senior...97th-best player on the East Coast by SuperPrep...20th-best offensive guard in the nation and the eighth-best player in South Carolina by Rivals.com...ranked ninth on Spartanburg Herald-Journal's Fab-50 list...ranked as the eighth-best player in South Carolina by TigerIllustrated.com and the #3-rated player in South Carolina by TigerNet.com...ranked #7 in South Carolina by CUTigers.com...#1 offensive lineman in South Carolina by The State...graded out at over 85 percent as a junior...played every position on the offensive line in high school...three-year letterman in wrestling who won the AAA state wrestling title as a junior...had a 66-4 career record in wrestling...state finalist and North/South All-Star in wrestling as a senior...four-year letterman in football; he played on the AAA state championship team as a freshman offensive tackle...honor student and recipient of the Governor's Award for outstanding character...president of his high school FCA and a soloist in the church choir...coached by Jimmy Neal...chose Clemson over Maryland, Penn State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest...born Thomas Austin on Nov. 14, 1986...majoring in political science.
