Former North Texas quarterback Austin Aune signed with the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday when he took another step toward his dream of making an NFL roster.
Al Key/DRC file photoAustin Aune set out a simple goal after he declared for the NFL draft a few weeks ago.
The record-setting North Texas quarterback didn’t talk about starting or even making a team.
“The goal is to get into camp,” Aune said. “If I get into camp, I can prove some people wrong.”
Aune received that opportunity last week and capitalized. The Atlanta Falcons announced Tuesday that they had signed Aune and three other players after their rookie minicamp.
The Falcons have three sets of organized team activities scheduled for May 23-25, May 31-June 2 and June 6-9 ahead of mandatory minicamp June 13-15.
Signing with an NFL team is the latest step in Aune’s unlikely journey in football. The former Argyle standout was not selected in the NFL draft in April.
Aune committed to TCU out of high school but turned his attention to baseball after being selected in the second round of the draft by the New York Yankees. He spent six seasons in the minor leagues without gaining much traction.
Aune elected to give football a try after being released and landed at North Texas after a brief stint at Arkansas. He waited for an opportunity for two years behind program legend Mason Fine and capitalized when it arrived while constantly battling for the starting job.
Aune started three games in 2020 and nine in 2021 before going wire-to-wire as UNT’s starter in 2022.
Aune set a program record with 33 touchdown passes to go along with 3,547 yards last season when he was an honorable mention All-Conference USA selection.
The questions with Aune in terms of his NFL future centered on his age. He will turn 30 this fall, is married and has two young daughters.
Aune acknowledged that being older will count against him in his pursuit of an NFL roster spot.
All he wanted was an opportunity and decided it was time to leave UNT despite having one season of eligibility remaining.
Austin Aune
“I’m extremely thankful,” Aune said. “You work your whole life for something like this. Your dream is coming true to a point. You haven’t made the team yet. This is the beginning.”
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BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870 and via Twitter at @brettvito.
UNT Athletics reporter
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