Austin Blake Larkin (born April 6, 1995) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. 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 ...

at Purdue University.

Early years

Larkin attended

Dougherty Valley High School Dougherty Valley High School (commonly Dougherty, Dougherty Valley, Dougherty Valley High, DVHS, or DV High) is a public high school located in the Windemere development of San Ramon, California, United States. The valley name comes from James W ...

, where played as a middle linebacker, tight end and

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

College career

Larkin began his college career as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

at the University of Notre Dame. As a freshman in 2014, he appeared in a single game during the season as a linebacker, but did not record any stats. He enrolled at the City College of San Francisco for the 2015 season where he was switched to defensive end. As a sophomore, he recorded 38 tackles (17 for loss) and 7 sacks. He contributed to the team winning the 2015 California Community College Athletic Association campionship and finishing the season with a 12–1 record. Just hours after finishing a game, Larkin got on a red-eye flight to West Lafayette, Indiana, where Purdue University head coach, Darrell Hazell offered him a scholarship and he accepted. As a junior in 2016, he appeared in 10 games with 6 starts. He tallied 18 tackles (3.5 for loss) and 2.5 sacks.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Larkin was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

on May 11. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

San Antonio Commanders (AAF)

In September 2018, Larkin signed with the San Antonio Commanders of 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 ...

. He played with the team until the league folded in April 2019.

Atlanta Falcons

On May 29, 2019, Larkin was signed by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2019, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 23, 2019, but was waived three days later and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 17, 2019. He was waived on August 4, 2020. He appeared in 2 games, playing 26 snaps on special teams and 10 on defense.

Carolina Panthers

Larkin had a tryout with the Tennessee Titans on August 22, 2020. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers on August 28, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 17. On August 8, 2021, Larkin was waived/injured and placed on injured reserve. He was released on August 17. He was re-signed to the Panthers practice squad on October 27. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Panthers on January 10, 2022. On August 30, 2022, Larkin was waived by the Panthers and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on October 18.

Personal

Larkin is the nephew of former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Barry Larkin.

References

External links

Purdue Boilermakers bioCity College of San Francisco Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Austin 1995 births Living people American football defensive ends Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players City College of San Francisco Rams football players Purdue Boilermakers football players Dallas Cowboys players Atlanta Falcons players San Antonio Commanders players Players of American football from St. Louis County, Missouri Carolina Panthers players