Alex Austin has been part of a major turnaround before – and he likes what he sees from the New England Patriots right now.
When Austin arrived at Oregon State as a freshman, he joined a team that he described as “horrible.” The Beavers had won just one game the year before.
But when Austin showed up in 2018, so did the program’s new coach, Jonathan Smith. Four years later, Austin left a Beavers team that had just capped off a 10-win season under Smith.
So far, Austin hasn’t seen a whole lot of success in the NFL. New England has gone 7-23 since during the past two seasons.
Things are tough right now for Jerod Mayo’s. But as someone who’s been part of one turnaround in college, does Austin think his current coach has the same ingredients to pull off what his former coach did?
”Yeah, definitely – just believing,” Austin said. “He’s a player’s guy as well. He’s been through it. Coach Smith was a player’s coach as well. When you have coaches like that, it’s hard to not listen to them. They’ve been in our shoes. They’ve done it. Coach Mayo has won at a high level. So everybody’s just buying into what he’s saying and things are gonna be OK.”
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Things haven’t been OK in the standings so far. The Patriots currently sit at 3-10, having lost their last three games.
The wins haven’t been there. But players like Austin have spoken positively about the progress the team has made on the field.
“I know the group of guys I’m in the locker with every day,” Austin said. “I know how much work we put in with one another – blood, sweat and tears. So I’m very confident that, as long as we continue to work hard, build that camaraderie every day, just trust one another, things can turn out the right way.”
Austin hopes to be part of that turnaround as he works his way back onto the field. The second-year cornerback missed a significant stretch of the season due to injury.
Last week against the Colts, he was a factor once again in the secondary. Austin played 26 snaps and finished the game with two pass breakups.
Once again, the Patriots suffered a heartbreaking loss. But Austin doesn’t see that as a problem as he continues to work towards improving his game.
“No, I don’t think there’s been a challenge at all,” he said. “Especially not for me because I’m someone who’s self-motivated. I don’t really let the records do too much on how I’m going to approach the game every day and every week.”
