Hiring new offensive coordinator Kent Austin has the potential to be the best decision Flames Head Coach Hugh Freeze will make in his coaching career.
That may seem far-fetched and bold considering Austin has not displayed his offensive skills in front of the Flames nation.
But think about these two questions for a moment. What sport brings the most attention to a college and what is the most critical player position that is played in that sport?
The answers are easy: football and quarterback.
You may say, how does Kent Austin play into this belief? Austin is the foundation of this belief coming to life and becoming a reality in the Liberty football program.
Austin played quarterback in the Canadian Football League for 10 years and won two Grey Cup championships and threw for over 36,000 passing yards and 191 touchdown passes. Austin is one of only four professional quarterbacks to have thrown for over 6,000 passing yards in a season.
Following a CFL career that saw Austin finish as one of the top 10 CFL quarterbacks of all time, the talented signal caller decided to begin his coaching career. In Austin’s first three years as a CFL head coach, he led his teams to Grey Cup appearances each year.
During his time as a CFL head coach, Austin was known as one of the wisest quarterback coaches. Austin’s methods differ from many quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators. While many offensive coaches instruct their quarterbacks on going through the progression which entails moving from one read to another by having a number one option, a number two option and so on for every passing play, Austin thinks differently.
Austin desires for his signal callers to break the field up into zones. This entails the quarterback coming to the line of scrimmage to identify how many safeties there are on the field and understand where they are. Based off of how the defense lines up, the quarterback will decide which side of the field presents a better opportunity for a completion by breaking the field in half.
This style of coaching presents opportunity for the quarterback to have a high completion percentage which will in turn lead to the quarterback gaining confidence.
“A quarterback has to understand what are the most important skill sets that he has to have,” Austin said. “Some are intangible; some are physical. He has to be able to see the game holistically. So how we break down the field, where he fixes his eyes, how he casts his vision and learning how to execute a play based off how a defense is taught to play.”
Austin’s impressive resume with taking veteran quarterbacks to a higher level is remarkable. The 2019 football season will entail Austin teaming up with Flames senior quarterback Buckshot Calvert.
If circumstances unravel in the same pattern as they have in the rest of Austin’s coaching career, the quarterback whisperer will give Flames fans a quarterback that will put on an offensive show weekly.
As a quarterback goes so does his team. If Calvert is propelled to the next level then I believe that that energy will be contagious enough to make the Flames bowl-eligible.
Just wait. Austin’s past depicts that he is able to implement his methods quickly and efficiently.
I believe that Hugh Freeze’s signing of Kent Austin will prove to be one of the most impactful decisions in Liberty University history … just wait and see.