Sometimes when a young player finds himself planted on the bench and in a coach’s doghouse, it can be a severe detriment to the player’s morale and confidence as they try to work their way back onto the field.
Bless Austin is not one of those players.
One mistake is all it took for Austin to earn himself a spot on the sideline to end 2019. In Week 16 against the Steelers, he gave up an inexcusable touchdown reception on the final play of the half in which Pittsburgh had no choice but to take a shot at the end zone. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was less than pleased with his rookie cornerback, immediately pulling Austin from the game and benching him for the Jets’ season finale against the Bills.
Instead of staying down on himself and harping on his gaffe throughout the offseason, New York’s second-year cornerback is using his late-season benching as a springboard for success in 2020 and beyond. Austin has not just learned from his mistake. He has dedicated himself to improving his situational awareness to prevent costworthy mental errors from taking place in the future.
“It happened because it was situational football and just not understanding the game,” Austin told reporters this week. “It was the last play of the half. They only had one more play. Just understanding that, they have to take a shot to the end zone. Me having a lack of awareness in that situation is what got me yanked out of that game, which should have happened. When you’re out there and you’re unaware of the situation in the football game, you place your team in a bad situation to come out victorious. That’s what happened. I learned a lesson from it, and it’s time to move on.
“I think that needed to happen very early on in my career. It was definitely a pivotal moment. I just learned the severity of not paying attention to detail. When you’re a young guy, you kind of get away with not paying attention to detail. You just want to go through the motions. That was a situation right there where I learned the severity of the consequences you pay for not honing in and paying attention to detail.”
There’s not much doubt that Austin has the physical tools to start for the Jets opposite Pierre Desir in Week 1. After returning from a second torn ACL midway through his rookie season, he stepped into the starting lineup and instantly became one of New York’s most impactful cornerbacks. Austin not only had a nose for the ball in coverage, but was also fearless and put himself in position to make plays all over the field — two traits that young corners sometimes struggle to master early in their career.
“He’s trying to learn every day,” Adam Gase said of Austin. “That’s something I appreciate about this kid… He studies other corners. He’ll ask questions. He’s trying to do everything he can to get better.”
With his natural ability and confidence on display last season, Austin proved that he has a chance to be a key part of the Jets’ plans on defense moving forward. Now, what he has learned from the way his 2019 season ended has him on track to develop into the No. 2 corner New York desperately needs.
“He’s dialed in right now,” said Jets defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson.