Thomas Austin (American football)

Austin attended Camden High School in Camden, South Carolina, where he played every position along the offensive line. He was a four-year letterman in football, and played on the AAA state title team as a freshman offensive tackle. He was an all-county, all-region, and all-area selection as a junior and senior. As a senior, he was named the top offensive lineman in South Carolina by The State. He was also named to all-state teams by The State, High School Sports Report, and SCVarsity.com. He was the upstate Lineman of the Year as a senior, and a Shrine Bowl starter at offensive tackle. Rivals.com rated him among the top ten Shrine Bowl players, and as the No. 20 offensive guard in the nation and the ninth best prospect in South Carolina.

He was also a three-year letterman in wrestling in high school, posting a 66-4 career record. He won the AAA state title as a junior and was a state finalist and North/South All-Star as a senior.

Austin chose to attend Clemson University over Maryland, Penn State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest. He redshirted as a freshman in 2005 and was named the offensive scout team player of the year by the Clemson coaching staff. In 2006, Austin played 177 snaps, posting 22 knockdown blocks and three intimidation blocks. As a sophomore in 2007, he started 12 games, including four at right guard and eight at center. He led the team in knockdown blocks with 90 and in offensive snaps with 780. He was twice named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week and was an honorable mention sophomore All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com.

In 2008, as a junior, Austin started 13 games and was three times named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week, while leading his team with 98 knockdown blocks. He was named to the All-ACC second team as a center after the season. In 2009, Austin started every game again as a senior co-captain, and was named to the All-ACC second team for a second straight season, this time as a guard. He was also named a third team All-American by Sporting News, and led his team with 112 knockdown blocks in 2009.

Signed undrafted with the Minnesota Vikings in April 2010 and spent time with the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Indianapolis Colts. Austin played in three games with the Texans in 2011, played in four games including one start with the Panthers in 2012, and played in one game with the Colts in 2013. In the Texans' final regular season game in 2011, Coach Gary Kubiak decided to go for two and the win instead of the extra point and overtime after scoring a touchdown with fourteen seconds left in the game. Neither a win nor a loss would have impacted the Texans' playoff situation. Austin snapped the ball over Quarterback Jake Delhomme's head, and the Titans defeated the Texans.

Clemson Graduate Assistant Has served under Head Coach Dabo Swinney and Offensive Line Coach Robbie Caldwell as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Clemson since just prior to the Tigers bowl win over Oklahoma in December 2014. The 2015 Clemson Tigers started 14-0 including victories over then-#6-ranked Notre Dame, then-#16-ranked Florida State, then-#10-ranked North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game, and then-#4-ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl and College Football Playoff Semifinal before losing to Alabama in the National Championship Game to finish 14-1. Clemson finished the season ranked #2 in the country.,[1][2]

The 2016 Tigers beat then-#3-ranked Louisville and then-#12-ranked Florida State as part of a 9-0 start before losing to Pitt. Bounced back to win every game thereafter, including the ACC Championship Game over then-#23-ranked Virginia Tech, the Fiesta Bowl and CFP Semifinal over then-#3-ranked Ohio State, and the National Championship game over previously unbeaten and then-#1-ranked Alabama. Clemson finished the season ranked #1, obviously.[3]

The 2017 Tigers defeated three ranked teams as part of a 6-0 start - (then-#13 Auburn, then-#14 Louisville, and then-#12 Virginia Tech) before a surprising, mid-season loss to unranked Syracuse. Clemson once again bounced back to reach the four-team College Football Playoffs - including wins over then-#20-ranked NC State, then-#24 South Carolina, and then-#7-ranked Miami in the ACC Championship Game - before losing to eventual National Champion Alabama in the Sugar Bowl/CFP Semifinal. The Tigers finished the season ranked #4.[4]

The 2018 season got off to a rocky-but-undefeated start before an early-season quarterback controversy as Coach Dabo Swinney pulled incumbent starter Kelly Bryant despite a 19-2 record as the Clemson starting QB and their 3-0 start to the 2018 campaign. Bryant quit the team and eventually transferred to Missouri, while Lawrence justified the coaching staff's faith in him by leading the Tigers to a 15-0 season that was capped by a surprisingly-dominant 44-16 win over then-#1 Alabama in the National Championship Game. Clemson also notched wins over then-#16 North Carolina State, then-#17 Boston College, and then-#3 Notre Dame in the CFP Semifinals.

During his time as a Clemson grad assistant, the Tigers have gone 55-4 with 4 ACC Championships, 19 wins over ranked opponents (an incredible 19-2 record against ranked opponents), and two National Championships.

Georgia State Offensive Line Coach Coach Austin joined fellow Camden, SC-native and Georgia State Head Coach Shawn Elliott as the Panthers' Offensive Line Coach prior to the 2019 season. On August 31, 2019 the Panthers picked up by far the biggest win in the football program's history with a shocking upset over Tennessee in historic Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. In Austin's first season with the Panthers, they finished the regular season 7-5 and qualified for just the second bowl game in program history before losing to Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl to finish 7-6. In Austin's second season (the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), the Panthers went 5-4 in the reguand then defeated Western Kentucky 39-21 in the Lendingtree Bowl to finish 6-4.

Return to Clemson In early 2021, Coach Austin returned to Clemson as an Offensive Analyst. It has been publicly speculated that the plan is for Austin to eventually succeed 67-year-old Robbie Caldwell as the Tigers' Offensive Line Coach whenever Coach Caldwell decides to hang up his coaching whistle.

• Clemson Tigers bio