Irish offer Austin
Washington (D.C.) Coolidge defensive tackle Marvin Austin already has more than 20 offers from powerhouse programs from around the country. However, his latest offer from Notre Dame has the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder very excited.
"I spoke to coach Weis the other day," said Austin. "He offered me on the phone and said it will be in writing this week. I'm pumped up about that one because Notre Dame is a school I'm interested in. I haven't been there yet, but I hear it's a great place and they're putting together a great team."
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Much of what Austin has heard has come from his good friend Arrelious Benn from Washington (D.C.) Dunbar, one of the nation's top 10 players.
"Regis (Benn's nickname) went there and he really liked it a lot," said Austin. "He came back very impressed and said it was a place I have to see. I hope to get their this summer."
Austin and Benn are so close that they're talking about going to the same school together.
"That's the plan, we really want to do that," he said. "We're looking at a lot of the same schools because of that."
Austin lists, in no order, Miami, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Florida State, Maryland, Virginia, NC State, Notre Dame and Penn State as teams of interest. He recently received new offers from Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Alabama and Auburn, but said he's focusing on his favorites right now.
"I've been to Maryland and NC State and both were great," he said. "Maryland is home and I feel comfortable there while NC State was really good. It surprised me a little bit how much I liked it."
But Notre Dame is the latest topic of discussion.
"Coach Weis has a proven track record and is a great coach," he said. "Notre Dame is known for academics as well and a big part of what I'm going to be looking for is graduation rates, job placement after college and things like that."
Austin has offers from all of his favorites now except for Southern Cal and Miami.
"Miami is still going through a transistion with coaches and Southern Cal just got my film last week," he said. "I'm hoping both will offer soon."
Austin is keeping himself busy by running track. His latest time in the 55-meter dash was a 6.72, an amazing time for a 300-pounder. Austin plans on attending the Elite College Combine on May 1 in New Jersey and the Penn State NIKE Camp on May 6.