Former CFCA star Austell gearing up for NFL draft ... or free agency
Erik Austell is having a party this weekend, but he isn’t calling it a “draft party.”
Instead, the former CFCA standout labeled the gathering a “draft/free agency party” as he gets ready for the next step of his football career.
Austell, who played in college at Charleston Southern, said he has heard he could be drafted as early as the fourth round, or he could go undrafted and go the free agency route. The NFL draft will be held Thursday-Saturday in Philadelphia.
“It would be pretty cool to be drafted if you know anything about my background, going to CFCA, a really small school, CSU, another small school,” said Austell, who said he probably won’t watch much of the draft. “Being a real small school, notoriety isn’t really easy to come by, and my name is going to be out there in that company with all the great players. That is going to be kind of cool.”
Austell, who took part in the NFL Scouting Combine in March, said he certainly wants to be drafted but that he would be OK with having to go through free agency, as well. The tackle said he has heard recently from seven or eight teams and thinks that number will double heading into the draft.
“I have kind of gone back and forth on how I feel about it. Being drafted would be great, and no matter what people say, you want to go ahead and get drafted,” Austell said. “Monetarily speaking, it’s a better signing bonus than free agency, but more than that, it’s a team saying they like you enough to spend one of their five, six or seven draft picks on you. Some teams have more, some teams right around there.
“Obviously, the upside with free agency is you get to pick where you want to go, but if a team drafts you, they’re saying they have a need you can fulfill. The goal is to get drafted, but if I don’t get drafted, I’m not going to be sitting here moping about it for sure.”
Being a real small school, notoriety isn’t really easy to come by, and my name is going to be out there in that company with all the great players. That is going to be kind of cool.
Erik Austell
This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Former CFCA star Austell gearing up for NFL draft ... or free agency."