Brent Austin

● Combined for 25 passes defended over past two seasons ● Click-and-close quickness to drive on plays in front of him ● Moves with good enough fluidity in coverage adjustments ● Plays with timing to crowd potential catch points ● Heady player — quickly picks up on route clues ● Tougher in run game than size suggests ● Coaches say his work and prep habits are consistent throughout the week ● Very quiet on and off the field, but has reliable compete skills ● Durable — started all 26 games past two seasons

● High-cut, skinny frame with stringy muscle tone ● Below-average speed and testing athleticism ● Late to mirror sudden receivers or yo-yo motions ● Plays too far beyond the sticks in zone, conceding first downs ● Didn’t record an interception as a senior ● Questionable play strength by NFL standards ● Has a tough time getting tight ends or bigger receivers to the ground 559 Back to table of contents -- 563 of 629 -- ● Missed six games as a freshman because of knee injury; underwent surgery in offseason (April 2023)

A one-year starter at California, Austin was an outside cornerback in former defensive coordinator Terrence Brown’s scheme (mostly off-man and zone coverages). He worked his way up from having one FBS offer out of high school (James Madison) to playing at South Florida and then delivering an All-ACC senior year at Cal. He led the FBS last season in forced incompletions (17), allowed only 45.8 percent completions when targeted and had a crucial punch-out forced fumble at the goal line to beat North Carolina. (Justin Wilcox: “Elite play … as good a play as we have had.”) Austin shows decent twitch in his movements to quickly collect, drive and affect the catch point. However, he doesn’t have ideal long speed and has a tough time recovering if caught out of position. He is competitive and tough-minded, both in coverage and versus the run, although his mediocre play strength will be more noticeable when facing NFL talent. Overall, Austin put draftable play on tape in 2025, including a three-week stretch (versus North Carolina, Virginia and Louisville) that created buzz with scouts. His body type and below-average testing will make it tough for him to be drafted, though.