By: Justin Walker | WV Sports Chat
WVU football icon Tavon Austin finds his name on the ballot for the 2027 class of the College Football Hall of Fame.
The “human highlight reel” is nominated as All-Purpose/Wide Receiver. Austin was a 2012 First Team All-America specialist and Second Team All-America receiver, winning the Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player. He was also a two-time Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. He earned First Team All-Conference at two positions in both 2011 (Big East) & 2012 (Big 12). The Baltimore native holds 16 WVU records and is the only player in FBS history with 3,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career.
His overall college stats were mind blowing. Austin caught 288 passes for 3,413 yards and 29 touchdowns. The versatile athlete also carried the ball 110 times for 1,033 yards and six touchdowns.
The 5-foot-8 inch all-purpose receiver was equally as special in the return game. He returned 97 kicks for 2,407 yards and four touchdowns. He also returned 34 punts for 433 yards and a touchdown.
The Los Angeles (then St. Louis) Rams drafted the superstar with the 8th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. He would spend five years with the Rams organization before spending the last few years of his NFL career with Dallas, Green Bay and Jacksonville.
Over his NFL career he had 244 receptions for 2,239 yards and 16 touchdowns. He once again excelled in the return game as well. He returned 25 kickoffs for 451 yards. He achieved even more in the punt return game, where he had 190 returns for 1,483 yards. Austin also had three punt returns that went for touchdowns.
While Austin’s NFL stats and accolades were not as impressive as those from his college days, his popularity among WVU fans and young players still exists today. Why? Because he has one of the most watched YouTube highlight reels of any player in history. Austin’s WVU senior season highlight reel has been viewed over 26 million times. While he ended his WVU football career in 2012, his highlights still get mentioned by recruits 14 years later.
Tavon Austin had some of the most exciting plays in West Virginia football history. He and fellow wide receiver Stedman Bailey, along with quarterback Geno Smith, brought Mountaineer fans memories they will not soon forget. For his part in that, Austin may be enshrined alongside the all-time greats of college football.
The class of 2027 College Football Hall of Fame inductees will be announced in January 2027.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
