It's difficult to measure determination, but if one could, Bless Austin's would be through the roof.
As a sophomore cornerback at Rutgers, the Queens native was an All-Big Ten honorable mention. But four games into his junior season, Austin suffered a torn left ACL injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
But then after rehabilitating his knee so he could return to the field for his senior campaign, Austin suffered another season-ending injury when he tore the same ACL in the first game.
Due to the consecutive knee injuries, Austin had the option of staying at Rutgers as a medical redshirt. He declined and declared for the 2019 NFL Draft.
"A big part of that decision was that I felt like physically, I was capable," Austin said. "I just needed to make sure I got my body back in order. I felt like the maturity was there as it relates to being ready professionally, so it was just a matter of putting the work in rehab-wise."
He put in the work, and it was noticed. Despite spending more time in the training room than on the field for two and a half years, Austin heard his name called during the third day of the draft when the Jets selected him in the sixth round.
"To be honest, it was bittersweet because, initially, the standard I had for myself, I was thinking of all the possibilities as it relates to being picked in a higher round," Austin said. "And it was bittersweet because I thought I'll be going away from home. But the sweetness of it all was, it was the New York Jets. So that was the whole beauty of it all, it was my hometown team.
"They'd seen the potential and what could be if I get back. They took a huge chance drafting me and just believing in me overall. So I felt like the message was clear on what they were expecting me to do."
What the Jets may not have been expecting was the immediate commitment Austin made to the team and to himself. While he didn't fill out a change of address card at the post office, for all intents and purposes, he basically moved into their facility in Florham Park.
"I just love to work. I just love to craft and perfect what I do or work to it, at least," Austin said. "And just to have those facilities and opportunity to have those resources, and have a team of people who just believe in you, it was hard not to feel like it wasn't a second home."
Following month after month of rehab including during the first eight games of his rookie season when he was listed on the non-football injury list, Austin would finally get the green light to play for the Green & White and make his NFL debut in the Jets' Week 10 game against the Giants.
"It was surreal," he said. "That's a childhood dream I worked towards, and I had to take a few moments to just recognize how much work was put in to get there before I had to get into the moment of understanding, trying to compete.
"And the thing I remember most about my first game was just how confident I felt through the preparation I put in, getting the body back right, hitting the drawing board, just watching guys in the film room before I was able to practice along with them.
"I just remember everything that it took to get there and how excited I was to now showcase it."
Two weeks later when the Jets hosted the Raiders, Austin was playing in his third game and making his second start. In on five tackles in a 34-3 blowout victory, that game is one of the fondest memories from his time with the team.
"Just the atmosphere and the energy, I remember the cohesion that was already built with the defense. I was starting to get acclimated with the starters as a young guy. I was building confidence coming off a game or two and I made some plays," Austin said.
"Especially after the injuries, I was trying to prove to myself, 'Hey, I belong.' And the guys were starting to build belief in me. Everything was just aligned, and I think we had a three-game win streak at the time.
"And the Raiders were doing pretty well. They had (Head Coach Jon) Gruden. (Quarterback) Derek Carr was at the helm. It was just a lot of things where the energy and everything was aligned. And the stadium was electric at the time, too.
"So I just remember how many plays we were making on defense and how electrifying the crowd was. Everybody was in sync that day. From the front office, to the ownership, to the coaching staff, to the players, the stadium, everything was just in sync."
During his two seasons with the Jets, Austin started in 16 of the 18 games he was able to play in and had 87 tackles, 66 solo, nine pass defenses, and two forced fumbles.
Has he ever wondered what if he hadn't had to deal with injuries?
"I don't wonder because I already know what would have been," Austin laughed. "I was a very freakish athlete before the knee injuries, and it showed in my ability to go through that and still go into the NFL and not have a preseason, not have OTA, but just primarily do rehab, and then be in the starting position a mere two or three weeks after going through that.
"I'm super fulfilled when it comes to how my career went because what I did was very, very rare. Just to be stationary like that for two and a half years and have to get the knee back, and then go against some of the type of guys I was going against, like Tyreek Hill, just to go through that and make it out there, that's a blessing in itself."
Austin, who makes his home in North Jersey, was "super fulfilled" with his NFL career even though he had to play essentially on one good leg. That he was able to accomplish that given the cards he was dealt and keep a 'never-give-up' attitude through it all is admirable.
And his willingness to help others benefit from his experiences and adopt that same attitude is admirable, as well.
"I'm going to schools, I'm doing speeches, I'm doing things of that nature, just working with the next generation and making sure tools can be provided to them that I necessarily didn't have on my journey that probably would have helped me out along the way, despite the things that I achieved," Austin said.
"Basically, I'm a pillar in educating kids, adults, whoever, and just basically transcending and integrating that with whatever they choose to be a practitioner of. Just give whatever wisdom and game I can give, coaching tips, just to be an open book."
A popular lecturer in the tri-state area, Austin has enjoyed giving motivational speeches for over two years. And while his website is in development, he can be reached at Bless@blessingsbourne.com.
"I have different layers of subject matter in which I communicate to whatever audience it is," Austin said. "If I'm going to speak to a group of football players, it's going to be more so providing them on what the game is bringing, the routines of being a disciplined athlete as it relates to being a football player. It's more geared towards the specification of what the person is doing.
"And if I'm speaking to a group of adults who work in corporate, what I more so speak about is keeping the harmony as it relates to work-life balance. And teaching them how, when I was in the NFL, how certain things plagued me mentally with my health because it was a lack of harmony in the balance that I kept and sustained through whatever journeys I went on."
