Austin P. Duke (born August 3, 1993) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the Barcelona Dragons of the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a professional sports#American football, professional American football sports league, league. The league (as of the 2023 season) consists of 17 teams located in Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, Italy, S ...

(ELF). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and later professionally for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

College football

In 2013, Duke began his

career with the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

as a member of

UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

's first varsity football team since 1948. As their leading receiver in each of his four seasons with the 49ers, he would go on to finish his college career in 2016 as their all-time leading receiver in receptions (253), receiving yards (3,437), and receiving touchdowns (24).

Professional football

Carolina Panthers

On May 5, 2017, Duke signed with the

of the

(NFL), and spent the remainder of the

2017 NFL season The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with Kansas City defeating defending Super Bowl LI champion New England in ...

on the Panthers'

practice roster In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. On January 1, 2018, Duke was signed to a reserve future contract with the Panthers. Duke would go on to participate in the Panthers' training camp, and appeared in 4 NFL preseason games, accumulating 69 yards on 9 receptions. On September 1, 2018, Duke was released by the Panthers at the end of training camp.

Atlanta Legends

In early 2019, Duke participated in the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

's Atlanta Legends training camp, but was injured and ultimately did not play.

Toronto Argonauts

On May 27, 2019 he signed with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. He was released June 7, 2019.

New York Guardians

Duke signed with the

New York Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLi ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

on January 7, 2020 where he was the league’s top Punt Returner and starter for the NY Guardians. The league suspended operations on April 10, 2020. In 2022 he joined Barcelona Dragons for the ELF 2023 season.

References

External links

*
Charlotte 49ers bio page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Austin 1993 births Living people African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Charlotte 49ers football players Carolina Panthers players Atlanta Legends players Toronto Argonauts players New York Guardians players Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina 21st-century African-American sportspeople Barcelona Dragons (ELF) players American expatriate players of American football American expatriate sportspeople in Spain