Austin ready for start of season

La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat three-star defensive end Dominique Austin is pumped for the start of his senior season. His first day of school is this Thursday and then his first game is on Saturday. The 6-foot-4, 232-pounder said there are some monster expectations for Bishop Amat this season.

"People from our area have high expectations for us, but some people think we'll be down this year," he said. "We're going to surprise a lot of people. We have some hidden talent. I think our running game is going to be strong and the defense is going to be really good.

"We play a really good team this week, but I'm really positive that we can play with them. I have a good feeling it's going to be a big game."

And Austin plans on doing everything in his power to help lead his team to victory.

"I play offensive tackle, and I play all the positions on the d-line," he said. "I like playing defensive end the best. This past summer I was working more on defensive end. I've trained more there and have more fun. I like to get to go off that edge and tear that quarterback up."

When it comes to colleges, Austin does have quite a few offers and a few teams are starting to jump out to him.

"I have offers from San Diego State, Arizona, Utah, Colorado State and Nevada," he said. "I've been hearing from Wake Forest, Arizona State, Cal, UCLA, and Oregon State, too.

"San Diego State and Arizona stand out right now. Between the two I basically have a choice between playing offense or defense. It just matters which position I want to play. Arizona offered me to play offense and San Diego State offered on defense."

Does he have any leanings toward which side of the ball he'd want to play on?

"Right now, I would rather play defense, so San Diego State would probably be my choice if other schools don't offer," he said. "I'm going to wait and see what happens, I'm not going to jump into anything yet. I've talked about visits with some coaches. San Diego State is the only visit I'm really positive about. I'm not sure about the other schools yet, but I know I'm going to take a visit there."

San Diego State has definitely done everything they can to be an impact team for Austin.

"I met coach Bill Inge and some other coaches at their camp," he said. "I think it's a really good fit for me. It's really homey for me, because I relate it to where I grew up. I can adjust well to it. It's 2 hours from where I am now. If I do go to school close I give (my family) a chance to support me more."