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Austin Aune
No. 14 – Atlanta Falcons
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1993-09-06) September 6, 1993 (age 31)
Argyle, Texas
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:221 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College:Arkansas (2018)
North Texas (2018–2022)
Undrafted:2023
Career history
Roster status:Active

Austin Palmer Aune (/ˈɔːni/ AW-nee; born September 6, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He is a former baseball player who was drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft. He played six seasons in the minor leagues before being released. He then enrolled at North Texas, and was the oldest starting quarterback in FBS football at the age of 29.[1]

High school career

Aune attended Argyle High School in Argyle, Texas. A two-sport star, he was the starting quarterback and also played shortstop on the baseball team. As a senior, he threw for 33 touchdowns and 3,411 yards while rushing for 9 touchdowns and 538 yards.[2] A three-star quarterback prospect, he originally committed to TCU to play college football. But after being selected by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft, Aune was offered a $1 million signing bonus to sign for the Yankees and so he chose to play professional baseball over collegiate football.[3][4][5]

Professional baseball career

Aune played six seasons of minor league baseball in the New York Yankees' farm system. During his tenure in the minor leagues, he recorded 20 home runs and 148 RBIs.[6][7] After bouncing between several High-A and Single-A teams and switching from shortstop to outfielder, Aune had a career batting average of .226 with 20 home runs and 147 RBI. On August 1, 2017, Aune was released by New York.[8] In his time in the Yankees system, Aune appeared for the rookie-level Gulf Coast Yankees, Low-A Staten Island Yankees, Single-A Charleston RiverDogs, and High-A Tampa Yankees.[7][9]

College football career

North Texas

In 2018, months after being released by the Yankees, a 24-year-old Aune joined the Arkansas Razorbacks for their 2018 spring practice. He enrolled as a student, but the crowded quarterback room convinced him to transfer to North Texas instead.[10]

2018-2020

Arriving at North Texas in 2018, he redshirted his freshman year. In 2019, he served as the third-string quarterback behind Mason Fine and Jason Bean, completing 4 of 5 passes for 136 yards in two appearances at quarterback. During the 2020 season, he backed up Bean while making eight appearances and three starts.[11][12]

2021

After starting the season as a backup to junior transfer Jace Ruder, Aune won the starting position after week 5 and lead the Mean Green from a 1–3 start to a 6–6 finish in order to become bowl eligible, including an upset win over #22 UTSA, before losing to the Miami RedHawks in the 2021 Frisco Football Classic.[11]

2022

Going into the 2022 season, Aune maintained his starting position against a crowded quarterback roster including Memphis transfer Grant Gunnell, leading the Mean Green to a 7–5 record and earning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors in week zero.[13] During the 2022 Conference USA Championship Game, Aune set a school record for touchdown passes in a single season with 32, surpassing former teammate Mason Fine.[14] Aune played his final career game in the 2022 Frisco Bowl, throwing for 238 yards and a touchdown in a 32–35 defeat.[15] After the game, Aune declared for the 2023 NFL Draft.[16][17] Shortly after the end of the season, Aune changed his mind and entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal.[18] On January 2, 2023, Aune withdrew from the transfer portal and redeclared for the upcoming NFL Draft.[19] Aune finished his collegiate career with a 13–13 record as a starter, with 488 completions for 7,324 yards, 56 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions.[20]

Professional football career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m) 		215 lb
(98 kg) 		32+1⁄4 in
(0.82 m) 		10+1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		 4.88 s 1.64 s 2.63 s 4.23 s 6.95 s 27 in
(0.69 m)		 9 ft 0 in
(2.74 m)
All values from Pro Day[21]

On May 1, 2023, Aune was invited to the Atlanta Falcons rookie minicamp.[22] He signed with the team as an undrafted free agent on May 16, 2023.[23]

Statistics

Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
North Texas Mean Green
2018 Redshirt Redshirt
2019 2 0 0–0 4 5 80.0 136 27.2 1 0 374.5 0 0 0 0
2020 8 3 1–2 101 185 54.6 1,650 8.9 13 4 148.4 27 29 1.1 2
2021 13 9 5–4 151 295 51.2 1,991 6.7 9 9 111.8 80 325 4.1 3
2022 14 14 7–7 232 411 56.4 3,547 8.6 33 15 148.1 44 52 1.2 1
Career[24][12] 37 26 13–13 488 896 54.5 7,324 8.2 56 28 137.5 151 406 2.7 6

Personal life

Aune is the son of Greg and Karen Aune.[25] Austin Aune married Kristin Massey in May 2021,[26] and they have a daughter.

References

  1. ^ "College Football's Oldest Starting QB Graduated High School In 2012, Could Play Until He's 30". OutKick. 2022-09-06. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  2. ^ "Austin Aune named starter at quarterback for North Texas Mean Green". Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  3. ^ Bahl, Dan. "This Former New York Yankees Prospect is Thriving...as a College Football Player?". 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  4. ^ "Austin Aune, top QB recruit, passes up on TCU glory for $1 million Yankees bonus". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  5. ^ "TCU quarterback commit Austin Aune signs with New York Yankees, will not be with team this season". Dallas News. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  6. ^ Rios, Preston (2019-10-24). "Local two-sport athlete revamps football career after professional baseball". North Texas Daily. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  7. ^ a b "Austin Aune Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  8. ^ "Austin Aune Stats, Fantasy & News". milb.com. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  9. ^ Huguenin, Mike (2022-09-05). "Almost 47 percent of FBS starting quarterbacks are transfers". On3. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  10. ^ "Hogs will now have seven at quarterback position". hitthatline.com.
  11. ^ a b "Austin Aune". meangreensports.com.
  12. ^ a b "Austin Aune stats". espn.com.
  13. ^ "Aune Named C-USA Offensive Player Of The Week". meangreensports.com.
  14. ^ bvito@dentonrc.com, Brett Vito Staff Writer. "Davis, Aune reach individual milestones in C-USA title game loss to UTSA". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  15. ^ "QB Green and Boise State beat North Texas in Frisco Bowl". The Seattle Times. 2022-12-17. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  16. ^ Vito, Brett. "Source: Austin Aune plans to enter name in NFL draft following bowl game". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  17. ^ Carroll, James (2022-12-07). "QB Austin Aune to declare for NFL draft after Frisco Bowl". North Texas Daily. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  18. ^ Martin, Chantz (23 December 2022). "Austin Aune, a 29-year-old college QB, enters transfer portal". Fox News. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  19. ^ Vito, Brett. "UNT quarterback Austin Aune declares for NFL draft". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  20. ^ "Austin Aune College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  21. ^ "Austin Aune, DS #42 QB, North Texas". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  22. ^ Vito, Brett. "Former UNT quarterback Austin Aune headed to Falcons rookie mini camp". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  23. ^ McElhaney, Tori (May 16, 2023). "Falcons sign four, release veteran tackle". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  24. ^ "Austin Aune College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  25. ^ "Aune keeps busy as two-sport athlete". espn.com. August 10, 2011.
  26. ^ Vito, Brett. "Live, love, play: UNT quarterbacks find comfort in committed relationships while competing for starting job". Denton Record-Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
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