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Lance Austin became Georgia Tech's ninth commitment June 17th, 2013, in what I'd imagine was the same phone call as the commitment of his twin brother Lawrence Austin. (Imagine how that worked...conference call? "Here coach, my brother has news too"? "My sons are committing to play for you"?) He's listed similarly to his brother, though maybe an inch taller, at 5'10", 170lbs. He hails from Lamar County High School in Barnesville, GA, and was actually the second of three straight Georgia Tech commitments to play there. He, along with the other two commitments, played both ways in high school, at QB on offense and CB on defense. He committed to Georgia Tech over offers from South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Western Kentucky among others. As is the case with many other Tech signees, his early commitment may have kept him off of a lot of teams' radars for much of the regular season.
Austin's film really highlights great football instincts. He's always aware of what's going on and really does a great job of breaking off from his assignment when he detects a play is going somewhere else. He shows great athleticism, which really works to his favor in pass coverage where he's able to close gaps very quickly. He's also a solid tackler, even in the open field. As with Lawrence, his biggest criticism has been his size. Even at a position that tends to be the smallest (on average) on the field, he's one of the smaller guys playing it, which can create some real challenges. That said, Lance and Lawrence would both seem to have the skill set (mental and physical) and attitude necessary to overcome those challenges.
The chances of Lance playing as a freshman are iffy, at least on defense. He and Lawrence are coming in alongside a stud CB in Step Durham, and besides him will have a lot of competition to overcome if they're to make the field on defense as freshmen. That's not to say it won't happen, especially if an injury or two require more bodies, but I don't think that the chances starting out are that great. That said, long-term they both appear to be major factors at CB on the Flats. Especially with where college football offenses are going, I'd say there's a good chance we see all three incoming freshman CB's on the field at the same time at some point moving forward.
Austin is rated as a 3-star prospect by Rivals (5.6) and 247Sports Composite (.8466).
Excited about Lance? Does he play a major role at Tech in his time? Will size be a major issue? Does he play as a freshman?
