As the final weeks of the 2011-2012 recruiting season wind down, the attention will slowly turn towards the class of 2013. One name that could emerge as potential prospect for the Cougars 2013 recruiting class could be Angleton (TX) athlete T.J. Austin.

Austin is the teammate of current Houston Cougars commit Ryan Jackson and has already heard a lot from the Cougars.

"The school that I've been hearing from the most is Houston," the talented athlete told CougarsDen while participating at the Army National Combine in San Antonio, Texas. "I've been hearing a little from Oklahoma, Missouri and Tulsa but nothing too much yet."

As a junior Austin completed 106 of 189 passes for 1,492 yards and 21 touchdowns with eight interceptions and also had 28 rushing attempts for 98 yards and five touchdowns in Angleton's Wing-T offense.

In 2011 Austin only played quarterback for the Wildcats but in 2012 he is expecting to play both sides of the ball.

"Last season everybody only played one way," the 6-foot, 175-pound athlete said. "Next season I'm going to play at strong safety also."

Austin's skillset might better suit him at another position at the next level, but he prefers to stay on the offensive side of the ball as a signal caller if it were up to him.

"Hopefully they'll recruit me as a quarterback," he added. "That's where I really want to play, but honestly I'd play wherever they needed me."

When asked what position he best felt his skills matched other than quarterback Austin replied, "Safety, maybe even running back, I don't know."

Next season Austin will have former teammates sprinkled all over the nation and while he admits it would be great to play with them, he will make the decision that is best for him.

"It would be nice to play with them," the talented junior said. "But I'm still going to choose based on what schools have the best principles for me and what I want to do, but it would be nice to play with them but that's not going to play a key part in my decision making process."

If the Cougars were to offer Austin it might be a hard offer to turn down.

"It would be real hard to turn that offer down," he said. "It's close to home, Ryan (Jackson) is going there and I have other friends that go there as well."

Last season Angleton made it deep into the Texas State Playoffs losing a heart breaking fourth round matchup to Pearland Dawson. Austin and his Wildcats hope to turn their fortunes around in 2012 and will be eying a state championship.

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