Austin Brinkman
| No. 40 – Houston Texans | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Long snapper |
| Personal information | |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 241 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | The John Carroll School (Bel Air, Maryland) |
| College: | West Virginia (2020–2024) |
| NFL draft: | 2025: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
Austin Brinkman is an American professional football long snapper for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers and was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2025.
Early life
[edit]Brinkman is from Bel Air, Maryland.[1] He began playing football and learned long snapping at a young age from his father, who later served as his coach in high school.[2] He attended The John Carroll School, where he played football as a quarterback, defensive back, punter and long snapper.[3] He also competed in basketball, lacrosse and track and field.[4] Brinkman served as John Carroll's long snapper for three seasons and was also named first-team All-Harford as a senior at punter.[3] After high school, he decided to play college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers.[3]
College career
[edit]Brinkman redshirted as a true freshman at West Virginia in 2020.[2] He then won the starting long snapper job in 2021 and appeared in all 13 games, being placed on scholarship prior to the last game of the season.[4][5] Brinkman played in all 12 games in 2022, all 13 games in 2023, and 12 games in 2024.[4] In his last year, he was named third-team All-American by Phil Steele, a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award as best long snapper nationally, and first-team All-Big 12 Conference by Phil Steele.[4] Brinkman finished his collegiate career having appeared in 50 of the 51 games across his four seasons as a starter.[6] He was also named first-team Academic All-Big 12 in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.[4] He was invited to the 2025 Senior Bowl.[1]
Professional career
[edit]After going unselected in the 2025 NFL draft, Brinkman signed a three-year contract with the Houston Texans, including $110,000 guaranteed.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Decker, Ryan (November 21, 2024). "Austin Brinkman showing signs of future NFL long snapper". WVNS-TV.
- ^ a b Redd, Derek (November 22, 2024). "Brinkman Earning Acclaim As WVU Long Snapper". The Journal – via archive.today.
- ^ a b c McRoberts, Randy (January 5, 2021). "John Carroll alum Austin Brinkman closes out freshman football season at West Virginia". The Baltimore Sun – via archive.today.
- ^ a b c d e "Austin Brinkman". West Virginia Mountaineers.
- ^ Decker, Ryan (December 11, 2021). "WVU puts Austin Brinkman on scholarship". WTRF-TV.
- ^ Redfern, Kevin (April 26, 2025). "Austin Brinkman signs with Houston Texas following NFL Draft". WBOY-TV.
- ^ Nespor, Cody (June 20, 2025). "Austin Brinkman secures NFL starting job with Texans". WOWK-TV.