Calvin Austin III might look up to the majority of his new Steelers teammates, but that's nothing new for the diminutive wide receiver.
At 5-foot-8, 170 pounds, he's always been smaller than the players he is competing against and with.
It has not, however, held him back -- except when it comes to perception.
Austin has been fighting stereotypes his entire life. From the time he was a starting varsity player as a 5-foot-4, 130-pound freshman cornerback to the NFL Draft, Austin has been proving people wrong.
The Steelers' fourth-round draft pick can't wait to do it again.
"When I would go to camps, I would have great showings and stuff and run a fast 40," said Austin, who was timed at 4.32 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
"They would always be like, ‘Your size. You’ve got to get bigger in your weight and stuff.’ I wrote that down in my notes. I keep it, all the things coaches and people have said to me in the past about that. That’s kind of my motivation."
His motivation helped take him from being a player who was being told he should look at FCS or Division III schools to earning a scholarship at the University of Memphis after joining the team as a walk-on.
He also ran track along the way, earning all AAC honors as a freshman and sophomore before focusing strictly on football.
Austin just isn't a player who will accept being told no.
"I remember I went to another camp and they told me I should talk to a D-III school," Austin said Saturday at the Steelers' rookie minicamp. "That’s the one that really stuck out to me the most. I remember calling my dad after. I was mad and hurt. I had a great showing and after they said I should talk to some D-III schools. I will never forget that."
But his support system kept him going.
"My family, my mom, my dad, my sisters, they all believe in me," Austin said. "One of the biggest and most important quotes I believe in is, ‘Do it for the people that do believe in you. Don’t do it for the people who don’t believe in you.’ That’s kind of what I live by."
It's worked out fine for Austin so far.
Not only did he earn a scholarship at Memphis, his hometown college, he thrived there. Austin caught 63 passes for 1,053 yards and 11 touchdowns as a redshirt junior in 2020. Showing it wasn't a fluke, he had 74 catches for 1,149 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021 despite every team knowing where the ball was going.
And he did it playing 90 percent of his offensive snaps outside the numbers. Though Austin has slot receiver size, he plays much bigger than his listed height and weight, largely because of his explosiveness, which also includes a 39-inch vertical leap.
University of Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner, the fourth pick in this year's draft by the Jets, called Austin his toughest matchup in college. Realize that Gardner is 6-foot-3 and did not allow a single touchdown in his collegiate career. The Bearcats also had 2021 Thorpe Award winner Coby Bryant on the other side of Gardner. Bryant was a fourth-round pick of the Jets, as well.
It didn't matter. Austin had seven catches for 121 yards against Cincinnati in their matchup in 2020.
"He’s definitely one of the best corners I’ve ever played against," Austin said of Gardner. "He went top-5. He’s very deserving of that. He’s a great corner. The most respect players can get is from other players, so for him to have high regards for me, it says a lot. I have high regard for him."
The Steelers also think highly of Austin.
Despite his lack of ideal size, they selected him in the fourth round of the draft after taking George Pickens in the second round.
Pickens is a 6-foot-3, long strider who is a prototypical outside receiver. The Steelers see Austin as a player who can slide into the slot in the NFL and have great success. He also averaged 11.1 yards per punt return in college, scoring two touchdowns on just 29 attempts.
Austin and his speed could be the perfect fit for offensive coordinator Matt Canada's scheme, which also includes plenty of jet sweeps to the wide receivers.
The Steelers used Ray-Ray-McCloud in that role last season, but McCloud left in free agency for the 49ers after catching 39 passes in 2021.
Austin is similar in size to McCloud. But he's faster -- and tougher.
"He brings the speed element, and he brings toughness," said Steelers wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson. "Not saying that the guys weren’t tough last year, but he brings some toughness along with his competitiveness, and I believe he’s going to make the room fun. He’s going to bring some juice and stuff to the room."
You have to be tough to play football at 170 pounds. There's an old saying in the NFL: Little guys take big hits.
Austin said he's taken some big shots during his career. But he doesn't allow them to affect him.
"Oh yeah, I’ve taken plenty of big hits," Austin said. "But the best thing after that is popping up and flexing on them. I love that. You get that big hit, get up and flex on them a little bit.
"They’re just like, ‘I thought he was going to stay down or something,’ but I’m not with that at all."
Austin might be just a shade under 5-foot-8, but he plays with a chip on his shoulder that's much bigger than that.
He's just never allowed his size to be a factor -- or hold him back -- despite the critics. He can't do anything about his size, but he can do something about his toughness and strength.
"I think I’ve always been," Austin said when asked if he's always been the smallest player on any team he's been on. "Any time I look at the weights, I was always one of the smallest. But in the weight room, I would always be one of the strongest per pound people. That size factor, it’s never been anything to me."
• The Steelers signed their final three draft picks Saturday -- sixth-round Conner Heyward, a tight end, and seventh-rounders Mark Robinson, a linebacker, and quarterback Chris Oladokun.
Second-round pick George Pickens was signed Friday, leaving Austin, first-round pick Kenny Pickett and third-round defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal as the only unsigned rookies from the team's draft class.