HEMPFIELD TWP, Pa. — Franklin Regional lost a bulk of their star power from a season ago with the graduations of Ayden Hudock and Owen Sinclair but the Panthers may just have another star in the making.
Junior defensive back Jaymier Austin showed in the Panthers’ blowout win over Hempfield on Friday night why he is the next star for head coach Lance Getsy. Austin helped spearhead a defense that caused four Spartans’ turnovers in route to a 49-26 victory.
The Panthers are now 2-0 as they enter a tough stretch of games against teams such as Upper Saint Clair, Latrobe and Gateway. Despite winning each of their first two games by at least 23 points each, the Panthers will need to stay locked in and focused on the fundamentals, such as practicing the right way.
“We just stick to our game, coming to practice, hard work,” Austin told Pittsburgh Sports Now after the game. “Coach Getsy always tells us, ‘You gotta want it enough if you want to win’ so that is what we have been trying to do.”
The Panthers defense forced two fumbles and two interceptions against the Spartans, including a pick-six.
Austin may have only contributed to the turnover party with a fumble recovery but he returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown and returned another 33 yards before being tripped up and tackled. On top of that, Austin played on an island all game at cornerback.
“We came out with energy,” Austin said. “We knew they lost last week but we were like, ‘we can’t take it light on them.’ They came out with a game plan but we came out with a better game plan.”
Since Austin is the team’s lockdown cornerback, the Panthers primarily feature him on defense but when the score got out of hand on Friday night, Austin got his shot to play wide receiver. Not that he is too focused on getting playing time on offense, he definitely still wants to get some offensive looks.
Nonetheless, he does not stress it, and for good reason. The 6-foot-2 junior has already accumulated three Division I offers due to his play at defensive back. Those offers are from Big-Ten member Purdue, Marshall and Youngstown State.
“I definitely want to play offense but we got older guys,” Austin said. “Coach Getsy is definitely giving me a chance but we are working. I am sticking to [defensive back] right now, working on my craft, working on what really matters.”
While he is ecstatic to be on the radar of such high-level teams, Austin is just appreciative of all of the coaches that reached out to him and developed a connection with him.
“All three of them,” Austin said. “I am in love with all of the coaches. We all stay connected, they are real good guys.”
With Austin expected to continue his strong play, he will likely only add to his offer list before the end of the season meaning his upcoming summer will be loaded with college visits.
Regardless, Austin and the Panthers are in a good spot to make noise in Class-5A but will need to continue to show that they “want it enough” if they want to really compete with teams such as Latrobe and Woodland Hills in the classification.
