Austin Aune to NFL?

Harry · November 3, 2022

peanuts104 · November 3, 2022

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peanuts104 · November 3, 2022

Seriously, I hope he gets drafted and gets paid. Won't say a bad word about him in this thread. Go get that money Aune.

outoftown · November 3, 2022

I hope he is gonna get paid. But I would be surprised. If he were 23 it would be much more likely someone would give him a chance. The NFL is a cutthroat business, and if you have to develop a QB into a starter or even a backup, chances are they will not see his maturity and age as an asset.

Edited November 3, 2022 by outoftown

Jonnyeagle · November 3, 2022

I think his age may work against him but do see a path for him as a free agent possibly.

GMG_Dallas · November 3, 2022

He'll get looks. The NFL is about winning. Yeah, they'd prefer a young QB they can have for the next 15 years but ultimately, if a guy helps them win that's all that matters. Where his age and experience with the Yankees helps him is you don't have to teach him how to be a pro either. Some of the young guys don't mature quickly enough and they end up not developing the way their team needs them to.

Mike Jackson · November 3, 2022

Aune is not a NFL prospect. Average size, average athleticism, athleticism, arm strength, accuracy and stats. He might get a CFL tryout if he really wants one. Ruder and Gunnell have more of the measurebles scouts look for. And since Aune doesn't have Mason Fine numbers they aren't likely to look past the all those average attributes. I hope I am wrong. If Aune makes it to Final Cut down day only to get cut that will be much farther than I expect him to get in the NFL.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Mike Jackson

emmitt01 · November 3, 2022

For his career at North Texas, here are his numbers.

6,116 yards, 54.2% completion percentage, 46 TD, 22 INT (2.09:1 ratio)

Mason Fine's stats (didn't make it to the NFL)

12,505 yards, 62.8% completion percentage, 93 TD, 34 INT (2.74:1 ratio)

You could argue that he has the "measurables" that Mason lacked, but the last I checked the job of an NFL quarterback was to throw the football and not to "be big"

Edited November 3, 2022 by emmitt01

jtm0097 · November 3, 2022

I bet he gets a camp invite like Derek Thompson did back in 2014. 32 teams and some teams only carry 2 QBs. The odds are certainly against him.

El Paso Eagle · November 3, 2022

33 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

For his career at North Texas, here are his numbers.

6,116 yards, 54.2% completion percentage, 46 TD, 22 INT (2.09:1 ratio)

Mason Fine's stats (didn't make it to the NFL)

12,505 yards, 62.8% completion percentage, 93 TD, 34 INT (2.74:1 ratio)

You could argue that he has the "measurables" that Mason lacked, but the last I checked the job of an NFL quarterback was to throw the football and not to "be big"

Maybe Mason played too good to be drafted 🤦‍♂️ If he gets drafted than maybe measurables do mean more than ability.

Mike Jackson · November 3, 2022

23 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Maybe Mason played too good to be drafted 🤦‍♂️ If he gets drafted than maybe measurables do mean more than ability.

Aune’s measurables are average and his statistics aren’t really good taking into account level of competition he goes against 8 games a year. If you don’t regularly light up the bottom 2/3 of CUSA as scout I would be very cautious of suggesting my team drafts in the back half of the draft. The last thing you want as lower level scout is pound the table for 30 year old QB be brought in with 6th or 7th round pick and have all the coaching staff wondering why he was brought in when they see him perform during training camp. At least Fine would have better stats and longer more impressive highlight video to show the your bosses what you saw in him. Aune is a hard worker and has professional acumen. But so is every player that isn’t freakishly athletically talented by NFL standards else they probably don’t get drafted high enough for teams to have patience correcting bad practice and preparation habits.

GMG_Dallas · November 3, 2022

5 hours ago, emmitt01 said:

You could argue that he has the "measurables" that Mason lacked, but the last I checked the job of an NFL quarterback was to throw the football and not to "be big"

Measurables most definitely mean more than college stats against college competition, especially when 90% of the opposing competition is not NFL caliber. Every NFL team believes they can fix mechanics and coach through decision making. You can't teach size and strength. The below is career college stats of a current NFL starter. I'm not good with copy and paste on a phone but the order is completions, attempts, completion percentage, yards, yards per attempt, TDs, INTs.

365

649

56.2

5,066

7.8

44

21

The guy below recently retired after 16 years in the NFL and actually had nearly identical listed height and weight as Aune. These are the career college stats.

384 of 642; 59.9%; 5,234 yards; 39 TDs; 15 INT

Neither of the two above played P5 football. One didn't even play FBS. Ultimately, I hope Aune gets a shot at the NFL. It would be great for him and UNT.

I realize Weeden had a much more prolific college career but he was still drafted in the first round at 28 years old. I don't think age is as much of a deterent as people think. GMs, like coaches, are trying to win now to keep their jobs. They don't care about what goes down 10 years down the road. If they're losing, they won't make it to 10 years. If they're winning, they'll cross that bridge when they get there.

Edited November 3, 2022 by GMG_Dallas
Edit to add total yards to the second QBs college stats.

TIgreen01 · November 3, 2022

6 hours ago, emmitt01 said:

For his career at North Texas, here are his numbers.

6,116 yards, 54.2% completion percentage, 46 TD, 22 INT (2.09:1 ratio)

Mason Fine's stats (didn't make it to the NFL)

12,505 yards, 62.8% completion percentage, 93 TD, 34 INT (2.74:1 ratio)

You could argue that he has the "measurables" that Mason lacked, but the last I checked the job of an NFL quarterback was to throw the football and not to "be big"

Left off here are attempts...which makes a huge difference:

Fine:

Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	AY/A	TD	Int	Rate

1039

1655

62.8

12505

7.6

7.8

93

34

140.7

Aune:

401

740

54.2

6116

8.3

8.2

46

22

138.2

I'm no Aune apologist...but your stats basically show double the yards and TDs. The full stats show that Fine accomplished those numbers while attempting more than double the number of passes. So you would reasonably expect his yards and TDs to be more than double as well.

In actuality, Aune's rating is 2.5 points off of Fine's, with more yards per attempt---which means that Aune is likely throwing the ball further downfield. That could help account for the lower completion percentage as it is reasonable to assume that longer throws are harder to complete.

Fine's interception total is a standout, though. He was more accurate and threw fewer interceptions (relative to attempts)

Edited November 3, 2022 by TIgreen01

Monkeypox · November 3, 2022

And I would be the 2nd oldest starting QB in the NFL...

2020 Sucks · November 4, 2022

Some of y’all are straight up smoking the Mean Green crack!
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott, Tua, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson…these are NFL QBs.

Name me one NFL QB that “Pick 6, Back Foot Throwing, Slow White Dude,” Austin Aune could compete with?

His best hope would be to hold a clipboard for a couple of years for a couple million as a journeyman backup or on a practice squad.

Hes a great dude! I like him. But I don’t see him in the league in any role with a jersey.

UNTLifer · November 4, 2022

1 hour ago, 2020 Sucks said:

Hes a great dude! I like him. But I don’t see him in the league in any role with a jersey.

I’m sure he would love to be friends with you.

TheColonyEagle · November 4, 2022

I remember thinking “we had an NFL player on our roster and not only did we not know it, I guess the coaching staff didn’t know it” and I kept thinking, “man our coaching staff must’ve not done a good job with him.” This player went on to have a nice NFL career.

What if Austin Aune is a QB version of Jamize Olawale?

He just needs a good coach at the next level? It’s not like Littrell has developed any QBs in 7 years….

Mike Jackson · November 4, 2022

9 hours ago, GMG_Dallas said:

don't think age is as much of a deterent as people think. GMs, like coaches, are trying to win now to keep their jobs.

You they aren’t planning for 10 years down the road but 10 months. If Aune doesn’t look great at the level of competition he goes against now it just isn’t logical that he is going to have an athletic epiphany at 30+. There is nothing special about Aune’s measurables. Aune’s a long shot to make it out of rookie mini camp if someone brings him in for a look.

emmitt01 · November 4, 2022

16 hours ago, TIgreen01 said:

Left off here are attempts...which makes a huge difference:

Fine:

Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
1039 1655 62.8 12505 7.6 7.8 93 34 140.7
Aune:

401 740 54.2 6116 8.3 8.2 46 22 138.2

I'm no Aune apologist...but your stats basically show double the yards and TDs. The full stats show that Fine accomplished those numbers while attempting more than double the number of passes. So you would reasonably expect his yards and TDs to be more than double as well.

In actuality, Aune's rating is 2.5 points off of Fine's, with more yards per attempt---which means that Aune is likely throwing the ball further downfield. That could help account for the lower completion percentage as it is reasonable to assume that longer throws are harder to complete.

Fine's interception total is a standout, though. He was more accurate and threw fewer interceptions (relative to attempts)

You would also expect his interceptions to double.

And yards per attempt becomes irrelevant when you consider where he often throws the ball on the short, easy ones that you mention as part of Fine’s stats…at receivers’ feet.

Here are the only questions that matter: If Mason Fine was Aune’s size, would you want him as our QB? If Aune was Mason Fine’s size, would you even want him on the field?

We all know the answers to these questions because we have seen both play the game of football.

Edited November 4, 2022 by emmitt01

Cr1028 · November 4, 2022

51 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

If Aune was Mason Fine’s size, would you even want him on the field? .

Depends how Iowa he is.

BillySee58 · November 4, 2022

Aune has a family to provide for and it’s hard to do that as the QB of the North Texas football season. Based on actual quotes to Vito and others, and reading between the lines a little, Aune has most likely spent all of that signing bonus he got from the Yankees 10 years ago, between taxes, buying a house, and 10 years passing.

He is catching strays from our fanbase mostly based on what the announcers last Saturday said he told them, about him trying to go pro after this season. The truth of the matter, based on what he has said about likely only being able to come back this season if he got NIL money, is that he just needs to start making money. Sure, he’ll give pro football a shot but it’s not like he’s forgoing eligibility because he thinks he has mastered the college game or football anything like that.

Don’t understand the need to clown on the dude for doing what probably any of us would do in that situation. Give pro football a shot before starting a full-time profession to provide for your family.

southsideguy · November 4, 2022

you never know until you try. If he doesn't try he will always wonder what if. If he does he doesn't ever have to think what if. Everyone should follow their dreams until it comes to the point you figure out this not happening.

MrAlien · November 4, 2022

He is built more like an NFL QB, he also has an interesting story (stories are marketable in the NFL). So he may not get drafted, but he will get some looks, probably a try out or camp invite.

keith · November 4, 2022

13 hours ago, Mike Jackson said:

You they aren’t planning for 10 years down the road but 10 months. If Aune doesn’t look great at the level of competition he goes against now it just isn’t logical that he is going to have an athletic epiphany at 30+. There is nothing special about Aune’s measurables. Aune’s a long shot to make it out of rookie mini camp if someone brings him in for a look.

You bring up a good point about the level of competition he goes against. I mean he can't really do anything about that, but are you talking about the "eye test" watching him in game situations or stats during these games? Some of the competition is simply better than we are, so stats will generally hurt. Likewise, some teams are simply overmatched and a QB can rack up style points. How many times did it seem Fine was in a game way too long? So, should we only look at a QBs stats against relatively equal (i.e. conference games) competition and ignore OOC games that may include teams above and below our weight class?

Right now, with the exception of one statistic (Completion %), Aune is ranked between #1 (Yards per Completion) and #33 (Passing Yards per Game) of all D-1 QBs in all individual QB statistics. In terms of how he stacks up against all other QBs, that seems pretty solid.

Edited November 4, 2022 by keith

GrandGreen · November 4, 2022

I want Aune to be a great college QB for this year and next if he decides to play. I want the Aune that played in the WKU game to finish out the season.

I applaud Aune for having high ambitions, but I can't think of any scenario that he could make it in a higher level. He would be at best a project at the NFL level and who is going to want to develop a player of his age.