Austin Corbett grew up in Nevada without an NFL football team to root for, so he did what most youngsters in his situation do, he picked one.
Now an NFL hopeful, Corbett grew up in Sparks, Nev., just a stone's throw from Reno, and instead of picking the Seattle Seahawks or Denver Broncos – teams that were both geographically close, relatively – he went with the Oakland Raiders.
And although Corbett graduated high school in 2013, his favorite Raider of all-time is a nod to the greatness of Raiders team of yesteryear, Hall of Fame center Jim Otto.
Little did the University of Nevada-product know though, that his favorite team would move a lot closer to his hometown, so yeah, Corbett and his dad – another fan of the Silver and Black – were pretty fired up when the Raiders were approved for relocation to Las Vegas.
"It's awesome, but just to be able to get a team, and I actually grew up a Raiders fan, so it's just kind of cool, because when you're in Reno, you kind of get your pick, and so I just went with a Bay Area team," said Corbett during his media session at the NFL Scouting Combine. "It's just kind of cool and I know everyone up north is pretty excited. I know it's going to be a great stadium just from seeing the designs of it, and the buzz is pretty amazing."
After a standout career at the University of Nevada that saw him play in 50 games, Corbett is now looking to continue his football career in the NFL, and although he was quick to say he doesn't have any rooting interests during the draft process, it was hard for him to hide his excitement about Jon Gruden's return to the Silver and Black.
"That's cool, just really throwing it back there," Corbett said when discussing Gruden. "I know my dad is really excited about it. He's a huge Raiders fan as well. We don't know what's going to happen with those whole process. It's weird now, you can't really root for anyone at this point, but it's really exciting."
Per NFL.com, Corbett is projected as a third or fourth-round draft pick.
