Shane Austin (born June 14, 1989) 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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. 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 ...

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

. Austin went undrafted in the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

and signed with the

Everett Raptors The Everett Raptors were a professional indoor football team based in Everett, Washington. The Raptors were member of the Intense Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They played their home games at the Comcast Arena at Everett in Ever ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

(IFL) after the draft. After starting the Raptors final games of the season, Austin was able to gain the attention of the

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power ...

of the AFL. Austin was named the starting quarterback for the Power, but a broken hand caused him to miss two months of the season. Austin then was assigned to the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cava ...

where he was named the backup to Chris Dieker. With Dieker struggling for the Gladiators, Austin was given the opportunity to start and lead the Gladiators to a 14–1 record as a starter and a berth in

ArenaBowl XXVII ArenaBowl XXVII was the 27th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers defeated the American Conference champion Cleveland Gladiators, 72–32. The game was played on August 23, 20 ...

. The Gladiators lost to

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

in the ArenaBowl, but Austin was named Second Team All-Arena.

Early life

Born June 14, 1989 in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

to Cathy and Dave Austin. He attended

Rio Mesa High School Rio Mesa High School (RMHS) is a high school in Ventura County, California. Located northeast of Oxnard, California, Oxnard, the school is surrounded by strawberry fields and other crops growing on the Oxnard Plain. The school is part of the Oxnar ...

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

, where he participated in football. As a junior, Austin split time with Chris Gagua, completing 52-of-81 passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Austin was the lone starter for the Spartans in 2006 and broke many school records for passing.

College career

Austin's late development as a quarterback lead to his light recruitment from

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

schools, but he was offered a chance to walk-on to the football team at the

, and accepted the team's offer. Austin spent his true freshman season as a redshirt for the Warriors, and didn't see any playing time as a redshirt freshman. In 2008, Austin was given the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback spot, and won a start versus

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

when starter Bryant Moniz was out with an injury. Austin threw for a career-high 299-yards against the Spartans, including a 10-yard pass to

Kealoha Pilares Kealoha Pilares (born February 20, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Professi ...

on third down in overtime. The following week Austin was once again backing up Moniz. In 2010, Austin was listed as the backup to Moniz again. He was action in the season opener again

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

as Moniz left the game with an injury. Austin completed 6-of-9 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. In 2011, Austin received another chance to start, this time against

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

. Austin struggled, and was pulled in the first half in favor of David Graves.

College career statistics

Professional career

Prior to the

, Austin was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the 56th best quarterback in the draft.

Everett Raptors

He was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012. Austin joined the 2–5 Raptors at the midway point of their season after starting quarterback Blake Bolles had signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

for training camp, and received just one practice with the Raptors before he was thrust in to the starting quarterback role. Austin caught on quickly to indoor football, leading the Raptors to 59 points in his first game (the Raptors had been averaging 44.0 points a game). Austin was able to help the Raptors keep their playoff hopes alive, leading them to a 2–2 record in his first 4 games. But the Raptors finished 1–2 in their final 3 games, missing out on the final Intense Conference playoff spot. Austin finished the season with 1,546 yards passing and 38 passing touchdowns, along with 285 rushing yards and two touchdowns rushing.

Pittsburgh Power

Austin was assigned to the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) for the 2013 season. Austin served as the team's backup quarterback for the first 16 weeks of the season, appearing in 3 games. During the team's Week 13 game against the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

, Austin received his first extended playing time after starter

Derek Cassidy Derek Winfield Cassidy (born December 2, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played three seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the New Orleans VooDoo and Pittsburgh Power. He played college football at the University of R ...

was pulled for his play. The game ended in a 21–59 defeat, with Austin throwing for 3 touchdowns and was intercepted twice. Austin would not see the field again until he was named the starting quarterback Week 17 against the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

. Austin and the Power struggled mightily, losing 78–20. By losing by 58 points, the Power set an AFL record margin of victory for a home loss. Despite struggling in his first start, Austin started the remaining 2 games of the season for the Power, winning 48–37 at the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

, and losing 61–43 to the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

Cleveland Gladiators

Austin began the season as the backup quarterback to Chris Dieker. With Dieker struggling in each of the team's second and third games, Austin came in relief and rallied the Gladiators to win both games. When it came to Week 4 of the regular season, Austin became the starting quarterback for the Gladiators. The 2014 Cleveland Gladiators finished the season with a record of seventeen wins and one loss. They lost 32–72 in

to the Arizona Rattlers on August 23, 2014.

Portland Steel

On November 30, 2015, Austin was assigned to the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

. On February 24, 2016, the franchise changed its name from Thunder to Steel. He was placed on league suspension on March 17, 2016, so he could tryout for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

of 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 ...

. He re-joined the team in mid-May 2016.

Shanghai Skywalkers

Austin was drafted by the

Shanghai Skywalkers The Shanghai Skywalkers are a professional arena football team based in Shanghai, China. They are members of the China Arena Football League The China Arena Football League (), often abbreviated as the CAFL, was a professional arena football l ...

in the first round of the

China Arena Football League The China Arena Football League (), often abbreviated as the CAFL, was a professional arena football league that played its games in the China, People's Republic of China. It featured players from the now-defunct Arena Football League (AFL) and ...

draft in 2016. He earned CAFL Offensive MVP and All-Pro South Division All-Star honors in 2016 after completing 121 of 191 passes for 1,436 yards, 35 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He also rushed for 74 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was listed on the Skywalkers' roster for the 2018 season.

Washington Valor

On May 3, 2018, Austin was assigned to the

Washington Valor The Washington Valor were a professional arena football team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Capital One Arena. The Valor were owned by Monumental Sports an ...

. On May 29, 2018, he was placed on reassignment.

Philadelphia Soul

On June 5, 2018, Austin was assigned to the

AFL statistics

''Stats from ArenaFan'':

References

External links

Hawai'i bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Shane 1989 births Living people American football quarterbacks Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Pittsburgh Power players Cleveland Gladiators players Everett Raptors players Philadelphia Soul players Portland Thunder players Portland Steel players Shanghai Skywalkers players Washington Valor players Players of American football from Santa Monica, California Rio Mesa High School alumni Sportspeople from Oxnard, California Players of American football from Ventura County, California