By: D. Scott Fritchen
Google "Hillsboro High School" and the accompanying image isn't the academic building that houses more than 1,000 students on 123 Leon Hall Parkway in Hillsboro, Missouri. No, the Google image is of the school's football field. It's a beautiful sight, really, with the sun dropping below the trees and large stadium lights towering over the game played below.
The field is where Austin Romaine dominated as one of the nation's top 50 inside linebackers, and it's where he rushed for more than 3,000 yards and scored 45 touchdowns in a remarkable career. There was a part of Romaine who always thought he'd play college baseball — his father, Jason, put a baseball into his hand before he could walk —but Romaine's strides and devastation between the lines demanded the attention of college football scouts.
Hillsboro High head coach Bill Sucharski was understandably aghast over Romaine's exploits — and where they could lead him someday.
"When you watch football games, there are players who are game changers," Sucharski says. "He was that type of player. I watched several players who became NFL players, and you could tell they were different than other kids on the field.
"That was Austin."
Today, Romaine wears a black Nike top and slides into a black chair in the second-floor lobby of the Vanier Family Football Complex. Kansas State has just finished practice No. 12 of football training camp. The 6-foot-2, 242-pound sophom*ore, who is expected to start at middle linebacker, will be one to watch on the Wildcats' defense in 2024.
"I want to be known as the guy that's going to come downhill and hit people," Romaine says, gazing at the football field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. "I'm going to be a really physical mike linebacker. I'm really excited. Ever since the bowl game I was ready to do it again. I've had a good fall camp so far, and I'm ready to get back onto the field."
Romaine accomplished so much last season. He played in 12 games with five starts at middle linebacker and earned votes from the league's coaches for the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year award. His five starts marked the most by a K-State true freshman defender since cornerback Duke Shelley in 2015 and the most by a K-State true freshman linebacker since at least 1988. He posted 22 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and one sack in the season.
He was forced into action when sixth-year senior Daniel Green, the heartbeat of the defense, went down with a season-ending injury. Daunting? For sure. But Romaine held his own — despite playing part of the season with a broken left hand.
"What am I proudest of?" he says. "I'm proudest of being able to step into that role when Deuce Green went down. I'm pretty proud of myself for that and that I was able to hold my own."
He'll never forget the week leading up to the game against UCF on September 23.
"We found out about Deuce that weekend after the (Missouri) game, and on Monday linebackers coach Steve Stanard told me, 'You're going to be starting,'" Romaine says. "It was kind of a crazy moment for me. It was pretty sick to be able to get that first start. I was really stoked about it."
He had a season high-tying three tackles and a tackle for loss against the Knights.
"Overall, I didn't do too bad," he says. "There were a few mess ups, but I thought I had a pretty solid game."
As the season wore on, the speed eventually caught up to Romaine.
"In high school we didn't have nearly as long of a season as in college," Romaine says. "I got thrown into the mix and it felt like it was pretty long for me, but I got through it."
It was hectic, for sure, reading keys, recognizing formations, recognizing motions and pre-snap action. Today, he's in the middle of things, he's assumed a vocal role, and he's identifying and communicating at the line of scrimmage. And that doesn't take into account his playmaking ability. And that's big.
"Austin Romaine is an upper-echelon player," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman says. "He's an athletic kid. We knew that. He's physical. He has mental toughness. Last year, I think he just got caught up with how long the season is. When you're a true freshman you start off hot and we liked him and thought he'd be good in a reserve role. Then Daniel Green gets hurt and all the sudden he's playing a lot more.
"He did well initially and by game eight, nine and 10, when his body and mind was starting to wear down, it's a lot higher intensity than in high school football."
And now?
"He's retooled himself," Klanderman says. "This spring he was awesome. Then we were waiting to see if there'd be an encore performance this fall and there has been. He's been sensational."
That Romaine was even on the field last season came as little surprise to Sucharski.
"I watched a lot of him," Sucharski says. "I know he had that injury. That shows his mental toughness and desire to go out there and compete. He had success in there, and I know they're going to count on big things from him this year."
And again, there was a time when football was on the backburner and baseball was the buzz for Romaine in Hillsboro. That changed when a coach approached Jason about possibly having Austin play little league football. Austin was 12. As his football career took off, college interest grew as well. Romine carried a 4.3 GPA and was recruited by Harvard. He received interest from all the Ivy League schools. He had 17 scholarship offers in all. But he loved that Stanard chose to attend his football games. It was while participating at a K-State camp on June 27, 2022, that Romaine received a scholarship offer from K-State.
"I got a call from Harvard and that was really cool," Romaine says, "but I wanted to have an opportunity to come to K-State and have a chance to play in the College Football Playoff."
And now time continues to tick toward K-State's season opener against UT Martin on August 31 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"Honestly, I'm just really blessed to be able to play the game," Romaine says. "Being a true freshman, it was a big thing for me to earn the trust from my teammates. This year, my teammates trust me a lot more."
He pauses and looks at the football field again.
"What I've learned the most about myself is being able to push myself and know that you always have more," he says. "College football is hard. We'll be in training camp for 21 days straight — nothing but football. It's about pushing yourself mentally and knowing you always have more."
And there's always more to go.
Romaine is just getting started.
