OXNARD, Calif. - Cowboys third-year receiver Miles Austin never thought he'd be an NFL player when he was at tiny Monmouth University. But Jim Garrett, father of Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, did.
The elder Garrett, a one-time Cowboys scout, saw the potential in Austin, who holds several school records as a receiver, and worked with him towards an NFL career. The Cowboys signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2006, and a year later, Austin was playing under the son of his former mentor.
"I used work out with Mr. Garrett, running routes in his backyard, so it's weird how it all came full circle," Austin said of once working with the retired Jim and now playing under Jason Garrett.
While he was a prolific pass catcher at Monmouth, Austin found the jump to the NFL to be too big to contribute immediately on offense. Instead, he took over kickoff return duties midway through the 2006 season, averaging 26 yards a return and returning a kickoff for a touchdown in the Cowboys' playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Austin continued in that role last season with a 25.5 yards-per-return average, but still received few offensive snaps playing behind starters Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton, with Sam Hurd coming in on three-receiver sets.
But now Austin feels he's ready to catch passes rather than kickoffs.
"I want to help us out on special teams as much as I can, but now I want to start making plays on offense, and doing what I can to help the team out and getting some W's," Austin said.
Just looking at Austin on the field now compared to last year reveals a noticeable difference. He's bigger, up to 216 pounds, and his routes are a lot crisper. Plus, he's dropping significantly fewer passes than in the past two years, a flaw that plagued him the one time he got extended playing time against Washington in the 2007 season finale.
But that was then, and this is now, and Austin flashed that improvement in the Cowboys' preseason-opening loss to the Chargers this past Saturday, leading all receivers with five catches for 64 yards.
"I was pleased with Miles," said Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips. "He ran good routes, he caught the ball in traffic. Those are two things that he's been working on and we were hoping he'd be able to do, because we see those abilities in practice."
Last season, Austin had a firm hold on the fourth receiver spot, but with his kickoff return role possibly being taken over by the club's first round draft pick, Felix Jones, he'll need to challenge for Hurd's third spot in order to get more playing time. Phillips has said Austin and Hurd are virtually tied for that spot, but Austin doesn't view it that way. That doesn't mean he feels he's better than Hurd - it's just not a man-to-man competition, literally.
"I see it almost like a golf tournament," Austin said. "We're all just playing the course. We're not really going against each other. I'm just focused on my 18."
The Cowboys are hoping to take advantage of Austin's natural speed as the deep threat that seemingly left town with the recently-waived Terry Glenn, and to some extent, that approach worked last year. Against Green Bay, the Cowboys sent Austin deep twice, and although he didn't catch the football, he did advance it, drawing an interference penalty on the defender both times.
And if that's what his role is to be this year, Austin's fine with that. Anything to help the team.
"If they want me to run streaks everyday, if they want me to mop the floors at night and do whatever they want me to do, I'm willing and happy to do it," Austin said.
It's doubtful the Cowboys need Austin to push a mop and bucket (it's mostly carpet at Valley Ranch anyway), but it is important to the club that he push himself, and take the next step.
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Good news is, he's already in mid-stride.
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