10 crucial Aggies: No. 4 - Matt Austin

As awesome as Chuckie Keeton has looked in camp, and as much potential Kellen Bartlett has as a receiving tight end, no single offensive player has the impact potential for this season quite like Matt Austin. With the importance the passing game will have this season, Austin needs to elevate his game even further and be the dominant offensive threat that most of us believe he's capable of.

What makes Austin great starts and ends with his hands. Trying to compare Austin's ability to catch the football to anyone else is pretty much meaningless. It's been a long time since seeing anyone with his hands come through USU, and it'll likely be a long time before we see hands this good.

But the hands are just part of it. When you get down to the rest of Austin's ability, his other skills are also among the best to come through USU in a while. He's fast, runs crisp routes and is a very good blocking wide receiver. He's about as complete a package as you can get in a wideout.

Depth isn't much of a concern with guys like Chuck Jacobs, Travis Van Leeuwen, Travis Reynolds, Cam Webb, Jojo Natson, etc... Austin needs to be head and shoulders above the rest though. A wideout that can be counted on to be open on almost every play and who can turn a desperate throw by the quarterback into a big play is something every team desires, but few teams really have.

A season of something in the range of 70+ receptions from Austin would mean this offense was getting it done in a big way. Coverages will be focused on him regardless, so the more pressure he can take off the run game and his fellow receivers, the better. And if the offense gets it done in a big way this season, especially with how great the defense has looked in camp, this could turn out to be one hell of a season!