Versatile Lineman Austin Firestone Set to Announce Commitment on Wednesday
Northwestern, Virginia or Vanderbilt will pick up a top lineman on Wednesday as consensus three-star prospect Austin Firestone has set his commitment date. He took official visits to each of the three schools in June.
Shout out to @NUFBFamily,@UVAFootball, and @VandyFootball for the amazing visits and being total champs throughout my recruiting process!
— Austin Firestone (@AustinFireston1) July 4, 2021
On Wednesday, July 7th
I'll be announcing my verbal commitment to one of these schools!#top3 #decisiontime
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound prospect, who is a top-70 player in one of the nation’s most talent-rich states of Florida, plays offensive tackle and multiple positions on the defensive line. Northwestern is recruiting him for the defensive side of the ball. He is both quick and strong, boasting a 4.86 40-yard dash time and the ability to squat 435 pounds. His 6-foot-7 wingspan certainly is not a disadvantage either.
Firestone is homeschooled, but he plays football for Niceville High School in the western part of the Florida Panhandle. He helped lead the Eagles to a dominant 11-1 season last year; over seven regular season games, Niceville shut out three teams and only gave up more than 14 points once.
Firestone contributed to a balanced and productive offense last season. The team averaged 7.1 yards per carry and totaled 2,323 yards on the ground. They passed for 2,845 yards and averaged 229.3 yards through the air each game. Firestone was not the only future Division I player on Niceville’s offensive line, as LSU freshman Kimo Makaneole played offensive tackle alongside him last year.
On the defensive side of the ball, Firestone averaged 5.4 tackles per game and had 43 total tackles. He led the team in tackles for loss with 17 and sacks with 9.5 despite only playing in eight of the 11 games.
Firestone, who has 24 offers in total, is incredibly impressive on the field and is equally if not more impressive off the gridiron. In addition to being a dual-sport athlete - he plays varsity basketball for Niceville as well - he is a triathlon-running, jiu jitsu-practicing, piano-playing, part-time radar engineer and beekeeper. He is a nutrition guru, having posted pictures of his meals with hashtags like “#eatclean” and “#healthiswelath” on Twitter. In addition to these impressive hobbies, Firestone is a diligent student with a 4.0 GPA and an ACT score of 31. It is clear why Northwestern, Virginia and Vanderbilt appealed to him, as all three schools place a heavy emphasis on off-field interests and talents in addition to athletics.
Football runs in the family, as Firestone’s father was a former Division I center at Southern Miss.
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Ashton Pollard is a reporter for Wildcats Daily on Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. She is currently a graduate student studying sports journalism at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.