Tavon Austin: 5 Things You Need to Know About the West Virginia WR

Someone call a hazmat unit—Tavon Austin's 2013 NFL draft stock is radioactive.

The diminutive receiver has risen to the top of many boards at the wide receiver position, and he could defy history and go in the top 10. Here are five things you need to know about him.

Combine results courtesy of NFL.com. College stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.

Background

Full Name: Tavon Austin

Birthday: March 15, 1991

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland

School: West Virginia

Major: Multidisciplinary Studies

Year: Senior

Twitter: @Tayaustin01

There is a reason Austin is such a dynamic receiver. He came into West Virginia as a fantastic running back, converting to wide receiver during his freshman year.

Collegiate Stats

The most dynamic player in the draft put up some mighty impressive numbers as part of a good offense.

Austin hurt opposing defenses from all over the field, from taking handoffs and pitches to lining up in the slot and out wide. He can also be a weapon in the return game, though he was so involved in the WVU offense that it seemed to save him from overuse.

Offense

	Receiving				Rushing
Year	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2009	15	151	10.1	1	6	47	7.8	1
2010	58	787	13.6	8	15	159	10.6	1
2011	101	1186	11.7	8	16	182	11.4	1
2012	114	1289	11.3	12	72	643	8.9	3
Career	288	3413	11.9	29	109	1031	9.5	6

Special Teams

	Kick Returns				Punt Returns
Year	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
2009	17	426	25.1	1	0	0		0
2010	12	230	19.2	0	0	0		0
2011	36	938	26.1	2	19	268	14.1	0
2012	32	813	25.4	1	15	165	11.0	1
Career	97	2407	24.8	4	34	433	12.7	1

Draft Process

Measurables

Height: 5'8.5"

Weight: 174 lbs.

Arm Length: 30"

Hand Size: 9.125"

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 4.34 seconds (top performer)

225-pound bench press reps: 14

Broad jump: 120"

Vertical jump: 32"

20-yard shuttle: 4.01 seconds (top performer)

Tavon Austin is an explosive player, and he can showcase that trait with or without pads.

The incoming rookie was one of the fastest players at the NFL Scouting Combine, setting stopwatches afire with a 40 time of 4.25 seconds that would settle at 4.34 seconds, officially.

Overcoming History

Can Tavon Austin break the mold at receiver during the NFL draft?

Over the past 25 years, only 10 of 44 receivers taken with a top-15 pick were under 6'0". None of them were quite as small as Austin, who is about the same size as Dexter McCluster.

If the buzz is to be believed, Austin will go as high as the No. 8 pick. It will be interesting to see if he can buck history.

Observations

Nobody heads into the draft with more hype behind him than Tavon Austin, and you can see plenty of evidence of that on Twitter.

"

"I only regret that I have but one pick and cannot trade up for Tavon Austin."—Nathan Hale, trying to lock up Austin in 1776.

— Michael Schottey (@Schottey) April 25, 2013"

"

Studied all 15 of Tavon Austin's TDs from 2012. 14 of 15 would've counted in a 2 hand touch league. Defenders can't touch him! #Dynamic!

"

"— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) April 2, 2013"

"

As with most draft prospects, where Tavon Austin ends up will have a major impact on his early success. Most explosive player available

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 28, 2013"

"

Heard Tavon Austin tore it up at West Virginia. From a scout: No drops. Great speed. Ridiculous body control. Starting to sound like Top 20

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2013"

"

Finishing up my mock draft…I do have Tavon Austin going in the top 10.

"

"— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) April 10, 2013"

"

Two potential top-10 picks that I can't seem to shake: Geno Smith to Oakland and Tavon Austin to Buffalo.

"

"— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) April 11, 2013"

"

If 5'8 Tavon Austin goes in the top ten of the #NFLDraft, he'd be just the second WR under 5'11 since 1950 to do so, joining @desmondhoward

— Chase Stuart (@fbgchase) April 25, 2013"

"

I don't know how much money Tavon Austin's agent makes but it's not enough. Masterful work. Reports have the guy No. 1 on every team's board

— TC (@ThePigskinGuy) April 25, 2013"

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