The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie receiver Calvin Austin III made it to the NFL even though many doubted him. He heard it during high school, and he's heard it through college. And now he's continuing to hear it from fans, media, and whoever else wants to doubt him. He's hearing this same old sentence. 'You're too small.'
Austin stands a whole 5 foot 8 and is listed at 162 pounds on the Steelers rookie mini camp pamphlet that was given to media members. But Austin says he hasn't been that light for a few years now. Instead he stays between 170 and 175 pounds.
"That was my weight like my sophomore year in college," Austin told Steelers.com. "I've been, these past months, between 170 and 175. I haven't been 162 in a minute."
But his weight isn't the issue that caused him to drop into the 4th round of the NFL draft. It's his height. He's listed at 5 foot 9 on the Steelers official website, but he was measured at 5 foot 8 at the Combine. Heights and weights have always been embellished by teams all the way down to high schools. It's always some gamesmanship. But regardless of if he's 5 foot 8 or 5 foot 9 he's never going to be tall enough for some coaches.
Photo/Blue Chip Scouting
Austin has had plenty of deterrents growing up, but he's let them fuel him from the time he was a freshman in high school. During his ninth grade season he was 5 foot 4 and 130 pounds starting at cornerback. But his performance on the field didn't quiet the doubters. Instead they told him he needed to get bigger.
"I would go to camps and have great showings, I'd run a fast 40," he said. "But they'd always be like 'your size, you gotta get bigger, your weight.' I kinda wrote down in my phone, in my notes, all the things that coaches have said to me in the past about that.That's kinda my motivation."
At one point when Austin was at a division 1 football camp he was told that he should be focusing on division 3 schools instead.
But Austin has always wowed with a special talent though that can't be taught. It can't be learned. Speed. That's been the great equalizer for him. He might not stand tall in stature, but he can make a play with the football in his hands that most can't. That's because of his speed.
After Austin was selected Mike Tomlin, Matt Canada, and Kevin Colbert all praised his ability to 'play bigger'. They said the film showed that Austin could make plays on taller defenders and still come down with the football. They said that ability is what made him stand out from other receivers the same size as him that may have failed in the NFL.
"One of the biggest and most important quotes I live by is, 'You're supposed to do it for the people who believe in you. Don't do it for the people who don't believe in you.' That's kinda what I live by."
More of us should live by this quote.
