Northwestern University Athletics
Austin King Drafted by Tampa Bay in Fourth Round
4/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 27, 2003
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Offensive center Austin King (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) became Northwestern's first 2003 draft pick on Sunday. He was selected as the 36th pick in the fourth round, and 133rd overall, by the world champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 2002, King earned honorable mention All-Big Ten kudos for a third straight year from the coaches, and a second time from the media. He was the anchor of the Wildcats' offensive line and totaled more "championship" performances than any other NU senior.
In 2000 and 2001, King helped Northwestern's offense rank first and second, respectively, in Big Ten total offense. In 2000, when the Wildcats captured a share of the Big Ten crown, NU led the league in scoring offense.
King played a key role in the maturation of Northwestern's young 2002 offense, which finished the year with a 538-yard performance against Illinois. King was named a Verizon first-team academic all-district selection in 2002 and played in the Feb. 1 Hula Maui Bowl all-star game.
BUCCANEERS GENERAL MANAGER RICH McKAY COMMENTS ON THE SELECTION OF AUSTIN KING
April 27, 2003
ON CENTER AUSTIN KING...
"We just like the center. He is a very athletic center, extremely smart. I think he kind of blew the Wonderlic [test] away. He's a very bright guy from Northwestern that has been a starter and a productive player. I don't think he played as well this year as he did last year, but we like the kid a lot. We like the athlete and had a position open in that we really did not have a back-up center. We wanted to bring somebody in that was young that we could develop at the position. We had a couple of guys to choose from, but we just felt most comfortable with him."
ON WHAT THE BUCCANEERS EVALUATE IN DRAFT PICKS...
"Toughness is going to be very high on the chart. Toughness is going to be measured in the style of play. Not looking for the guy to take the play off, not looking for a guy to stop blocking when the whistle has not fully been blown and a second has not elapsed since the whistle has blown makes toughness a big criteria."
ON THE BUCCANEERS SELECTING TWO OFFENSIVE LINEMEN...
"We felt like this was the year we had to retool the offensive line a little bit. We knew we were going to do it in the draft, and we thought we would be able to do it in free agency, also."
AUSTIN KING QUOTES
April 27, 2003
ON BEING DRAFTED BY THE BUCCANEERS...
"I am extremely excited about that and just glad to have the opportunity to play for the Super Bowl champs. I'm almost speechless. It's a great deal, and I am really excited."
ON WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BUCCANEERS...
"My main strengths would have to be intangible things. I would like to consider myself someone with a good attitude and a hard worker. I think there are always technique things I have to work on. I can always work on getting stronger and learning the game more."
ON PLAYING FOR OFFENSIVE LINE COACH BILL MUIR...
"[Offensive line] coach [Bill] Muir worked me out at Northwestern, so I knew they had some interest. But I really had no clue going into today what was going to happen. It came as a bit of a surprise. It was just a matter of finding out what was going to happen. All I ever wanted was an opportunity, so I am glad that I got that."
ON HOW HE HEARD THE BUCCANEERS SELECTED HIM...
"I actually somehow lost my cell phone last night, and I was at the store trying to buy a new cell phone with the same number when coach [Jon] Gruden called me on my dad's number. I didn't know until they told me. I don't know if it was before or after they told me because we obviously couldn't see it."
BILL MUIR QUOTES
Offensive Coordinator/ Offensive Line Coach
ON THE POSSIBILITY OF LANCE NIMMO AND AUSTIN KING HELPING THE TEAM...
"I think when you look throughout the NFL, obviously the more marquee names come in, but that doesn't guarantee success either. One of the outstanding factors with both of these men are their intangible characteristics. We bring in two players that have redeeming qualities as football players, they are extremely competitive and tough. The benefit is going to be that it increases the competition in our offensive line and the old adage is true that competition brings the best out. Our goal during the offseason has been to increase the competitive level of the offensive line across the board so that at each position there is legitimate competition. We will go to training camp, we'll go by what we see, the best 10 will stay and the best five will play."
ON THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE OFFENSIVE LINEMEN SELECTED...
"My personal opinion is that regardless what franchise you are in, that characteristic (intelligence) of an offensive lineman is maybe one of the most important because of what the defenses are doing now requires a process that is almost instantaneous. I think it is extremely hard for somebody who is low on the football instinctive scale to play offensive line. These guys are very high in terms of that. They are just good solid football players who have been productive on their level, maybe more because of their competitiveness and intelligence than anything else."
