Calvin Austin III Draft Diary: Memphis star on his 40-yard dash, praise after NFL Combine

In part two of Calvin Austin III's draft diary, the former Memphis receiver takes readers back through his impressive 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, which he ran in a blazing 4.32 seconds.

Austin was one of the top performers among receivers in multiple events and several analysts praised him for improving his draft stock. At least one mock draft has him as a potential third-round selection along with teammate Dylan Parham.

So how is Austin handling the praise? Keep working. Next up is Memphis' Pro Day on March 24 where he'll do the bench press and give scouts another chance to evaluate him on his home turf.

More: Memphis football's Dylan Parham adds solid NFL Combine showing to draft journey

More: How a successful family helped Memphis OC Tim Cramsey want quarterbacks to be 'why guys'

Calvin Austin on his 40-yard dash

“Once I was out there, I felt very at peace and knew I was ready to go. First, we did broad (jump) and (vertical leap). I had never jumped 11 feet in broad jump but I knew when I jumped (11 feet, 3 inches), I was like yeah, my legs are ready to go. Like I’m feeling explosive and poppy, I’m feeling good.

“I knew I was the first receiver up so my mindset was, I’m going to let the momentum from my jumps take me into that 40. The race happened so quick. When I felt like I raised up and got going, it was over. I wish I would’ve raised up even a little sooner because I felt like I was really picking up speed towards the end.

“After I finished, I knew I had ran something nice because the crowd just got super loud and was cheering. They had never cheered during that whole time we were warming up. It reminded me of a touchdown in a big game. That’s what it feel like with the crowd getting loud all at once.”

The aftermath

“Some of the players were saying good run and stuff. You just ran 4.32. Some of the guys who weren’t working out and stuff, they could be on their phones, they were like ‘Bro you just ran a 4.3!' Everybody already there was expecting me to put down something fast but they were like, “Bro, you’re super fast!"

“It was pretty cool talking to them because some of those big name guys, I’ve heard of or seen play but us competing and having them give some compliments out, it was all good and spoke to how far I came.

“Those guys get a lot more show time at Power Five schools so you always hear about them. But when I got up there with them, I knew that I belonged. I was a guy that was supposed to be right here around these other talented guys.

“I wanted to show that regardless of my size, whatever I do, I’m going to be one of the top people in that event just because of my God-given athletic ability. I just wanted to show that on that big level because the combine is the best of the best. I was just glad I could show that I was an explosive athlete who could run fast, jump and also run routes and catch the ball.”

How Austin handles the praise

“I looked at a whole bunch of stuff and I was really just taking it all in. You won’t get a moment like this back. I was just very thankful because I prayed a whole lot that week. When you think about it, I’m not supposed to be in this position if you just look at it from the beginning.

There’s a lot of people who said “No, I knew you were going to be like this and that,” but a lot of them were the same people who said something in 2019 when I was just breaking out. It’s very few who thought from the beginning of my freshman year and I was riding the bench that would say I would be here.

“But when I see all that (praise), part of me has to block some of it out. When I get success, it makes me want to work harder. Part of me blocks out so I can not get complacent. That’s one of the biggest things about this whole process. So just seeing that it makes me very thankful and proud of how far I’ve come and the work that I put in. I pat myself on the back for my work and how I’ve been able to continue that. I take it in, I’m happy for it but I have to continue to work and that’s been the process that I’ve been following.

“You just take the good with the good and know that you just got to keep working. I did tell some of the scouts up there that I don’t get too worried about that. One of the questions was are you driven by your successes or your failures? A lot of people would say failure and that’d be a reasonable answer. But mine is success because when I get some, it drives me to go harder. Once I get a little bit of it, I want more so why wouldn’t I work harder?

"Now we have Pro Day coming up (on Mar. 24) so why wouldn’t I go and make sure my routes or whatever I do is better. So it’s just putting yourself in that mindset."

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Calvin Austin III Draft diary: How Memphis star felt about NFL Combine