Two-time Pro Bowl receiver Miles Austin was the first Cowboy in the franchise’s 55 postseason games to return a kickoff for a touchdown. Austin is heading into his sixth season as a Dallas Cowboy after coming out of Monmouth, a junior college in New Jersey. In his first NFL start against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, Austin broke the Cowboys’ record for receiving yards in a single game with ten catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns, including the 60 yard game winner in overtime.
Prior to the 2010 season, Austin signed a six year extension with the Cowboys starting in 2011 for $54 million, with $18 million guaranteed. With ten catches in each of the first two games of the 2010 season, Austin became the second Cowboy ever to have two double digit weeks in a row. In 2011, he scored a career best three touchdowns in Week 2, but was plagued by hamstring injuries for the rest of the season that made him miss six games.
Blake Novacek of Pro Player Insiders caught up with Austin at Cowboys training camp.
PPI: Alright, my first question is: With the addition of Maurice Clayborn and Brendan Carr, how do you think the Cowboys’ defense is going to be in 2012 compared to ’11?
Austin: You know, hopefully we’re going to be well. You know, we’re going to do well. You never know, you know, because if anyone was ever a, you know, fortune teller, they’d be predicting lottery numbers, but you know we’re working to do well and that’s how you get better.
PPI: Alright. What are your personal goals coming up from the 2011 season to the first scrimmage against the Oakland Raiders?
Austin: My goal is to help the team as much as I can, in any way I can and to get better every day.
PPI: And last question, how, in your personal aspect, how have you been helping the rookies progress and learn most of the ropes of professional football?
Austin: Just any way I can, you know, helping them with releases and what not. I learn from them just as much as they learn from me, so we’re going to help each other down the road and we’ll see where it takes us.
Interview By Blake Novacek
Megan McLaughlin contributed to this report.
