Injuries and depth were two things that plagued the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this past season. One key loss that hurt early on was the loss of cornerback Blessuan Austin to a season ending knee injury.

Despite a knee injury for the second year in a row, Austin is considered the Scarlet Knights' top NFL prospect. Before the injury, Austin was widely considered one of the top cornerbacks in the conference and finished his Rutgers career with 89 total tackles, five tackles for loss, four interceptions, two sacks and one fumble recovery.

With that being said, Austin spoke with The Knight Report on Thursday afternoon to discuss his injury, his training, and the NFL Combine. Here is a quick Q&A.

TKR: Where are you training at now and how’s it going so far?

Bless Austin: “I’m out in San Diego right now training with the Exos training program. Basically my agent out here in Los Angeles gave me a couple options and we both agreed that Exos would be the best decision for me, especially where I’m at in the process with the injury and all that."

TKR: What coaches/trainers do they have over at Exos and what have you been working on the most lately?

BA: "They have a couple of experienced guys over there, but the only one I know is the one I’ve been working with is coach Matt Clarke. He is a great coach and we’ve been putting in a lot of work on the board. We’ve been doing a lot of X’s and O’s stuff lately and just improving my knowledge of the position and the game."

TKR: Any word from the NFL about a possible NFL Combine invite?

BA: “I recently got an NFL Combine invite. It was pretty big when I found out the news. The fact that I’ve been in the situation that I went through and NFL GM's want to still meet me up close and personal means a lot. Hopefully I can show them how my leg is feeling and everything, just show them what I can do and hopefully one of them will pick me up and draft me.”

TKR: One of your teammates Saquon Hampton also got invited, what’s it like to see another Rutgers get the invite to a combine when some schools don’t even send one guy to the event?

BA: “It was pretty big and it just shows the talent that we had over at Rutgers. It also shows the coaching abilities of coach (Chris) Ash and our DB coaches, that they can develop us and get us a step closer to the next level.”

TKR: Regarding your knee and the recent injury that happened this season, would you say that you are at 100% health now?

BA: “I feel great, but I wouldn’t say I’m at 100% right now. It’s a process and I’m going through all the strength and conditioning right now. Teams know that when I’m healthy that I am definitely one of the top corners in the nation. I’m going to respect the process, just heal up and do what I did last time. I’m just getting ready for when it’s go time to show what I can do.”

TKR: Rutgers recently hired Henry Baker again to be the team's cornerbacks coach again. You’ve played under him so what’s your message to the younger corners that don’t know him?

BA: “The first thing I would tell them is to just buy in and do it immediately. Just trust him from the start and he is going to give you all the right tools to succeed, just like he did for Isaiah (Wharton) and myself. He is one of many coaches that helped both Isaiah and I have the success that we did.”

TKR: What is the number one thing you are going to miss about playing college football?

BA: “I’m really going to miss competing. When I was on that field, I felt like I was the best corner in the nation and I really felt that way. I was just trying to show the people around college football that I could compete with the best of them.”

TKR: What do you say to people who talk to you about Rutgers and bring up the recent 1-11 season?

BA: “I just tell them you have to have patience, we are a developing program. We had a young quarterback and a lot of young guys on offense and some things take time. Chris Ash said it to us before, some things take time and what he said it might take four, five or even six years. Some people laugh when he says that, but what he said is really true, it’s going to take time. When some of these guys get older, they are going to be much better.”

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