Tavon Austin

Here's a look at what national media are saying about the St. Louis Rams drafting former Dunbar star Tavon Austin with the No. 8 pick in the 2013 NFL draft. ** SI.com's Don Banks says the Rams gave up a lot to get Austin, but the West Virginia wide receiver could very well be worth it . St. Louis shipped its 16th overall pick to Buffalo to get to No. 8 for Austin, also throwing the Bills a second-rounder (No. 46), a third-rounder (No. 78) and a seventh-rounder (No. 222)

During a decorated college career at West Virginia, Baltimore's Tavon Austin was tough to grab in the open field. Austin had 3,413 receiving yards in four years in Morgantown, W.Va., and much of the damage he did as a receiver came after the catch when the Mountaineers quickly got him the ball in space. Five games into his NFL career, though, the Dunbar graduate hasn't found that space as easily. The Rams, who traded up to select Austin eighth overall in April's NFL draft, have made an effort to get their top pick involved.

The NFL's annual pre-draft meat market wraps up Tuesday, but one of the players generating the most buzz at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis was former Dunbar star Tavon Austin. His 4.34 in the 40-yard dash Sunday validated the gigabytes of electrifying game tape the wide receiver compiled at West Virginia. Austin was already being viewed as a likely first-round pick after piling up 3,413 receiving yards, 1,033 rushing yards and 35 total touchdowns as West Virginia's version of Percy Harvin, the do-it-all playmaker for the Minnesota Vikings.

There are all sorts of reasons to tread cautiously before reading too much into Maryland's resounding 37-0 victory over West Virginia on Saturday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium, but that doesn't mean that Terrapin fans shouldn't savor the moment and the team's 4-0 start. Everyone knows that the Mountaineers were hammered by the NFL draft, losing quarterback Geno Smith and receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey from a team that wasn't exactly dominant in its first season in the Big 12. And it's fair to point out that the Terrapins were expected to beat each of their first four opponents and the lopsided score on Saturday was inflated by a West Virginia turnover-fest.

Tonight's offering in the seemingly never-ending slew of bowl games features West Virginia and Clemson from the Orange Bowl in Miami. That means local fans will be tuning in to check out former Dunbar standout Tavon Austin on the big stage. But they won't be the only ones. Austin, the Mountaineers' star wide receiver and special teams All-American , has received quite a bit of local and national media attention in advance of the game (8:30 on ESPN). Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com writes that Austin's move to receiver -- after he was recruited to be the next Noel Devine -- has turned out to be a blessing in disguise . In the Charleston (W.Va.)

The Next Level is a Recruiting Report feature that focuses on natives of Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County who appear on NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision rosters. For former Dunbar star Tavon Austin , 2011 was the season that he officially lived up to -- if not exceeded -- the hype. Austin, the 2009 Baltimore Sun Male Athlete of the Year, was an often unstoppable scoring machine for West Virginia in the fall.

Former Dunbar star Tavon Austin is being recognized as an All-American by two major websites. CBSsports.com has Austin as a first-team "all purpose" player on special teams. Yahoo! has the West Virginia junior on its second team as a punt returner. Austin has returned 19 punts for 268 yards (14.1 per return) this season. He also also handled kick returns, averaging 26 yards per return and taking two back for touchdowns. Austin also has 89 catches for 1,063 receiving yards and 4 TDs, and he ranks second in the country in all-purpose yards.

Maryland probably didn't need another reminder that wide receiver Tavon Austin (Dunbar) — who was once heavily recruited by the Terps — opted to enroll at West Virginia instead. But the Terps were reminded often Saturday. Seven times, to be exact. That's the number of receptions Austin made for the No. 21 Mountaineers in West Virginia's 31-17 victory. Austin caught passes of 6 and 5 yards for West Virginia's first two touchdowns. The sophomore also had a 57-yard kickoff return and finished with 172 all-purpose yards.

During a decorated college career at West Virginia, Baltimore's Tavon Austin was tough to grab in the open field. Austin had 3,413 receiving yards in four years in Morgantown, W.Va., and much of the damage he did as a receiver came after the catch when the Mountaineers quickly got him the ball in space. Five games into his NFL career, though, the Dunbar graduate hasn't found that space as easily. The Rams, who traded up to select Austin eighth overall in April's NFL draft, have made an effort to get their top pick involved.

Representing Dunbar High with a maroon suit and maroon tie, Tavon Austin strolled into Radio City Music Hall around 7 p.m. Thursday night to see his lifelong dream fulfilled. At 7:34 p.m., he and 22 other top prospects were introduced to the crowd. Each towered over him. Austin then retreated to the green room, downed a bag of potato chips and watched the draft unfold, his legs shaking the whole time, with a group of family and friends, including his mother, Cathy Green, and grandmother, Louann Green.

When Geno Smith and Tavon Austin departed West Virginia for the NFL after last season, they left their names in the school's record books and their legacies firmly planted in Morgantown, W.Va. Filling their cleats isn't easy, but redshirt freshman quarterback Ford Childress and true freshman slot receiver Daikiel Shorts are doing their best to create their own history with the Mountaineers, who play Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday. "Geno left some huge shoes to fill," Childress said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. Does Stefon Diggs have a legitimate chance to win either the Maxwell Award or the Paul Hornung Award? Don Markus: On first glance, you would think that the Maryland receiver and kick returner would be a long shot for any national award, given the fact that the Terps are considered by most to be - at best - a middle-of-the-pack team in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division.

The Baltimore sports scene is blessed with a bunch of talented bloggers who bring their unique perspective to the conversation. Each week, I hope to chat with one of them in a regular feature called Blogger on Blogger. This week, I exchanged emails with Dan Ciarrocchi, a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association who writes about fantasy football for Pro Football Focus and the Redskins for Hogs Haven, an SB Nation website. MV: Which rookie backs will have the most fantasy impact in 2013?

  Baltimore Sun reporter Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. Is the Atlantic Coast Conference being vindictive with Maryland regarding its basketball schedule for its final season? Don Markus: After seeing that the Terps have to go play at Duke and North Carolina, without a return game from either the Blue Devils or Tar Heels, my reaction was it was a, uh, going-away gift for leaving for the Big Ten in 2014.

Representing Dunbar High with a maroon suit and maroon tie, Tavon Austin strolled into Radio City Music Hall around 7 p.m. Thursday night to see his lifelong dream fulfilled. At 7:34 p.m., he and 22 other top prospects were introduced to the crowd. Each towered over him. Austin then retreated to the green room, downed a bag of potato chips and watched the draft unfold, his legs shaking the whole time, with a group of family and friends, including his mother, Cathy Green, and grandmother, Louann Green.

Here's a look at what national media are saying about the St. Louis Rams drafting former Dunbar star Tavon Austin with the No. 8 pick in the 2013 NFL draft. ** SI.com's Don Banks says the Rams gave up a lot to get Austin, but the West Virginia wide receiver could very well be worth it . St. Louis shipped its 16th overall pick to Buffalo to get to No. 8 for Austin, also throwing the Bills a second-rounder (No. 46), a third-rounder (No. 78) and a seventh-rounder (No. 222)

One of my favorite assignments in the past year or so was the feature I did this week on former Dunbar and West Virginia star Tavon Austin, who for weeks has had talent evaluators in NFL organizations and in the media salivating about what he might do in the pros. One quote from my story really summed Austin up nicely. “I think the teams that view him conventionally as a slot receiver are being short-sighted,” Greg Cosell of NFL Films, whose opinion I respect, told me two weeks ago. “The teams that see him as the ultimate chess piece that can be moved all around and aligned everywhere on the formation are the teams that will get it right.” Now that we know that Tavon is heading to St. Louis, let's take a look at how he will fit with the Rams.

Imagine the football field as a chess board, its synthetic green grass replaced with two-toned squares. Picture wideouts as rooks rocketing up and down the edges of the board and backs as bishops slashing through a front line of pawns. Tight ends and slot receivers are knights, slipping out to seize smaller chunks of ground. The quarterback, of course, is king, often times stationary but absolutely invaluable. Where does Tavon Austin fit into the NFL's weekly high-speed, hard-hitting chess matches?

One of my favorite assignments in the past year or so was the feature I did this week on former Dunbar and West Virginia star Tavon Austin, who for weeks has had talent evaluators in NFL organizations and in the media salivating about what he might do in the pros. One quote from my story really summed Austin up nicely. “I think the teams that view him conventionally as a slot receiver are being short-sighted,” Greg Cosell of NFL Films, whose opinion I respect, told me two weeks ago. “The teams that see him as the ultimate chess piece that can be moved all around and aligned everywhere on the formation are the teams that will get it right.” Now that we know that Tavon is heading to St. Louis, let's take a look at how he will fit with the Rams.

Imagine the football field as a chess board, its synthetic green grass replaced with two-toned squares. Picture wideouts as rooks rocketing up and down the edges of the board and backs as bishops slashing through a front line of pawns. Tight ends and slot receivers are knights, slipping out to seize smaller chunks of ground. The quarterback, of course, is king, often times stationary but absolutely invaluable. Where does Tavon Austin fit into the NFL's weekly high-speed, hard-hitting chess matches?