Terrence Austin doesn’t have to look far for a comparison. He only needs to remember his high school days, playing alongside current Eagles playmaker DeSean Jackson at Polytechnic High School in California. Like Jackson, Austin is a small, speedy receiver. Like Jackson, he’s a returner.
Unlike Jackson, however, he was a seventh-round draft pick by the Redskins.
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“Me and DeSean were really close,” Austin said. “We worked out a lot together.”
In Jackson’s first two seasons, he averaged 16.7 yards on 124 catches with 11 touchdowns (and three more on punt returns). Austin is UCLA’s all-time single-season yardage leader, but he never scored on any of his 143 punt returns or 90 kickoff returns and wasn’t invited to the scouting combine.
He’s not as fast as Jackson, but …
“Everything he did showed how explosive he was and I paid attention to a lot of things he did,” Austin said. “He was good with his feet, coming in and out of breaks. He excelled at punt and kick returns so I wanted to be the same way. Everything he did I wanted to mirror.”
Jackson is 5-foot-10, 175 pounds; Austin is 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. Like Jackson — a second-round pick — he wants to help at receiver (will be tough, at least initially) and returner (less competition).
“I know that I’m a quick guy, I’m real shifty,” Austin said. “I use my speed to get around the corner. I can be a big play guy. I can make an impact immediately. I feel I can do both.”
Just like Jackson. The Redskins would like nothing more.
