Ausbon’s physical play, maturity impress Fisher
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M receiver Jhamon Ausbon, his head hunched while dealing with a severe injury, claimed an awakening when he heard the roar of fans in the distance that Saturday last fall in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
“Something hit me in the Arkansas game,” Ausbon recalled. “I heard the crowd and I’m in the (locker room) down, because I had broken my foot. At that point, I realized it wasn’t about me; it was about the team. They fed off me and my energy, and so I had to go out there and act like nothing had happened.
“(I needed) to pump those guys up the rest of the season, then come back and try to make the biggest impact I could make on the team.”
It’s a feel-good revelation, Jimbo Fisher said, but the Aggies coach threw a flag on Ausbon’s tale, because the receiver was being too humble.
“He might of thought that way,” Fisher said of Ausbon opting to make it all about the team. “But he never acted that way before. He was always a team guy.”
Fisher arrived at A&M in December 2017, when Ausbon was completing his true freshman year as one of the nation’s top receiving prospects. Fisher quickly realized he’d inherited a player mature beyond his years, both mentally and physically.
“Jhamon does everything,” Fisher said early on of Ausbon, who played at Episcopal and St. Thomas before finishing his high school career at IMG Academy in Florida. “Blocking, route running, getting guys lined up, leading, setting guys up … it’s (also) his physicality and how he practices every day – the way he goes about his business every day. He sets the tone for the other guys.”
Ausbon (6-foot-2, 212 pounds) did so even when sidelined four games in the middle of last season with the broken foot, further impressing his new coach during that span.
“He stood back there like a coach, watching the guys,” Fisher said. “And all of the sudden all the crazy things that we were talking about (schematically) – you start seeing them. It’s helped him in his leadership, too, and how he addresses the other guys.”
Despite missing a third of the regular season, Ausbon finished fourth among A&M receivers last season with 31 catches for 375 yards. He was the lone receiver among the team’s top 11 to not play in at least a dozen games.
Ausbon is entering only his third season at A&M, but carries himself with the maturity of a fifth-year senior.
“I’ve become more of a student of the game,” he said. “My goal now is to try and teach these younger receivers what to do, and to work with (quarterback) Kellen (Mond) on our timing. Just trying to get everything down to the details. And I’m healthy, thank God.”
Kevin Sumlin, Fisher’s predecessor who recruited Ausbon to A&M, once described the sturdy receiver as “built differently than a lot of guys.”
Sumlin compared Ausbon to former A&M and Spring Woods High receiver Robert Ferguson, who moved on to a successful NFL career. Ausbon played his first two seasons at A&M at about 220 pounds, but Fisher and Aggies receivers coach Dameyune Craig challenged him to slim up a bit entering this year.
“I’m 212 and moving better,” said Ausbon, adding that Fisher and Craig both told him he looked “twitchier” at that weight.
“It turns out they were right, which they’re always pretty much right,” Ausbon said with a chuckle. “I didn’t really see it at first, but then at 212, I’m playing the best ball I’ve ever played.”
Ausbon headlines a talented receiving corps including fellow juniors Kendrick Rogers, Quartney Davis, Hezekiah Jones, Roshauud Paul and Cam Buckley. Jalen Preston, whom Fisher has praised during camp, is a sophomore, and freshmen Kam Brown and Anias Smith are expected to contribute this fall.
Then-tight end Jace Sternberger led A&M last season with 832 receiving yards, and Ausbon pledged the Aggies, who open their season Aug. 29 against Texas State, will have “multiple” 1,000yard receivers this time around.
“Why not?” Ausbon said. “Last year, the first time in that offense, you don’t know what you’re looking at. You’re just running the plays that Jimbo calls. Now, you see the offense … and we see improvement each day.”