Tavon: Still awesome
April 26, 2013 by Mike Casazza
With whatever due respect for Geno Smith, the talk of the day ought to be Tavon Austin. Kudos to him for getting to a height that was probably out of reach for someone of his stature just a few years ago.
He’s the right guy in the right place at the right time and if the St. Louis Rams didn’t jump up and take him No. 8, believe the Jets were primed at No. 9.
Jets would have selected Tavon Austin with No. 9 pick if they couldn’t trade down, I’m told. Rams-Bills deal made it a moot point. #nyj
— Manish Mehta(@MMehtaNYDN) April 26, 2013
There were a lot of highlights last night — tributes to troops and to Boston, Joe Andruzzi’s teary-eyed bug guy routine, Sweet Carolina, the house music serenading the Minnesota Vikings picks with “Purple Rain,” “Smoke on the Water” and “Purple Haze,” to name but a few — but the highlight for me was the range of emotions for the Jets fans before, during and after the picks at Nos. 9 and 13.
They were bent when it was announced the Rams had made the trade to N0. 8 because, while maybe they weren’t infatuated with Tavon, they knew someone was taking him so that the Jets would not. This was fun.
It took Austin a long time to make it from the green room to the stage — that clip is two videos; I snipped the first one after about a minute of Roger Goodell waiting on Tavon — and his family was very emotional. Those hugs must have been lengthy and rewarding.
Afterward, it was clear how much this all meant to the Austins.