Blue-Grey Football Alumni Update: Austin Wolf

Blue-Grey All-American Bowl alum Austin Wolf is doing well nowadays at Akron.

Plenty of prospects, some of them high-profile, others under-the-radar, have come and gone in the past decade or so, since the inception of the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl. Still, the talent level across the board on the national level has been about as good as it gets.

Things don’t figure to change anytime soon, either. That said, the hype is building for a pair of games this year: The first is on Dec. 20 at AT&T Stadium and home of the Dallas Cowboys. The second is on Jan. 9 at Raymond James Stadium and home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

To gain a better understanding about the rapidly growing direction of things, perhaps it’s best to take some time to reflect on the humble beginnings. Therefore, moving forward, the plan is to more closely examine the brand’s many alumni from all over the country.

Austin Wolf from Lebanon (OH) takes a turn the spotlight for this space. As a member of the Class of 2013, the game’s first ever too, he finished with eight catches for 96 receiving yards as South defeated North, 21-14, at Raymond James Stadium.

Worth mentioning, Kansas State commit Byron Pringle was named as Offensive MVP with six catches for 104 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Indiana commit Michael McGinnis was named as Defensive MVP with 12 tackles, eight solo stops.

Ohio State commit Reid Worstell and Florida State commit Hunter DeWitt were a couple of other well-known national names to line up that day. Arizona State commit Davon Durant and Indiana commit Michael McGinnis fell in the same kind of category.

Perhaps underestimated at times back then, maybe unfairly to this day, to the 6-foot-3 and 210-pound sophomore wide receiver for Akron hopes to prove the naysayers wrong again, this time against Miami (OH) on Nov. 14 in MAC game at 12 p.m. (EST).

This season, Wolf opened up eyes with two catches for 70 receiving yards in a 35-14 nonconference victory over Louisiana. Five games later, he turned heads with two catches for 33 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 17-13 conference victory over UMass.

Expectations were tempered as a freshman, yet Wolf made a statement in his collegiate debut with three catches for 70 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 41-0 nonconference victory over Howard. In six games on the year, he averaged 21 yards per touch.

Skepticism or not, the path to success is clear with the Zips. And beyond. Given the current trend of big targets, perhaps the NFL awaits, maybe as an undrafted free agent. Regardless, he burst on the scene at the brand’s inaugural All-American Bowl in Florida.