In his elegant publish, Austin thanked “all the organizations, coaches, and workers that took an opportunity on me” and credited soccer with altering his life. He closed the retirement message by saying, “I’ll without end cherish the time I spent within the NFL. It has certainly been a privilege. Identical to seasons, they arrive to an finish, and it is time for me to enter my subsequent chapter in life.”

The undersized however harmful triple menace — as a receiver, runner and returner — totaled 1,361 yards dashing; 2,239 yards receiving; 1,483 yards on kickoff returns; plus 451 yards on punt returns. Austin additionally scored 16 receiving touchdowns, 10 extra on the bottom and three as a kickoff returner within the NFL.

Austin had a superb school profession at West Virginia, totaling 4,446 yards from scrimmage, 2,840 extra on returns and 40 touchdowns in 52 school video games for the Mountaineers.