West Virginia Football: 10 best individual seasons under Dana Holgorsen

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MORGANTOWN, WV – SEPTEMBER 29: Stedman Bailey #3 of the West Virginia Mountaineers celebrates his forty seven yard touchdown catch in the first half with Tavon Austin #1 against the Baylor Bears during the game on September 29, 2012 at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

No. 4: Tavon Austin, Wide Receiver | 2012

Was there ever a more-frightening opponent with the ball in his hands than West Virginia’s Tavon Austin? College football hadn’t seen a player of his caliber since USC’s Reggie Bush in 2005, but Austin was always one move away from scoring.

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As a wide receiver, Austin tallied 1,289 yards on a school record 114 receptions. He recorded double-digit catches in eight games in 2012, including back-to-back 13 and 14-reception performances against Maryland and Baylor.

Austin added 643 yards and three touchdowns on the ground as a senior after being thrust into the backfield late in the season. Against Oklahoma, Austin scored two touchdowns on 21 carries and amassed a WVU single-game record 344 rushing yards; he added four receptions for 82 yards.

Austin’s 2012 campaign solidified his position in the Mountaineer record books as one of the best to don the Old Gold & Blue. Along with totaling the third-most receiving yards in a single season at WVU, Austin became the school’s all-time leader in career receiving yards with 3,413.

Nobody could’ve predicted Austin’s meteoric rise at WVU, but he did generate interest as a four-star recruit from Dunbar High School in Maryland.

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