When the Jets selected former Rutgers cornerback Blessuan Austin with the No. 196 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, they took a chance. During the Jets' 2019 season, Austin paid them back.

After missing the first nine games of the season while recovering from a second torn ACL over a four-year Rutgers career, Austin started six times in seven contests, breaking up four passes and forcing one fumble while making 25 tackles as a bright spot for the Jets. While a starting job is up for grabs, Austin simply kept the focus on how he can improve in his second year with the Jets.

"I don't really look at it like that," Austin said Thursday. "I'm just so attention oriented and I take this game so seriously to maximize my ability. So I don't want to look at it as opportunity. I just want to maximize my ability. With me doing that, I can continue to progress every day. I'll, ultimately, be able to help the team out -- regardless of what role I'm in, you know what I mean? So I don't view it that way. Regardless, competition, no doubt. But I just want to maximize my ability."

The 6-foot-1, 198-pounder was also healthy for a first offseason since the summer of 2017 -- as a rising-star junior at Rutgers (2015-18).

"I was super excited, too, because this was one of the first offseasons that I was healthy and have a chance to really get after it and continue to build and doing it from the ground up again," Austin said. "So regardless of the circumstances, I was excited, this offseason -- being able to work."

While training physically, Austin also takes mental lessons from his rookie season. Austin especially remembers Dec. 22, 2019, when -- in the Jets' 16-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers -- he had a lapse on a 29-yard touchdown pass allowed to Diontae Johnson.

The Jets pulled Austin from the game after that play, but it served an added source of fuel to the fire.

"One thing for sure -- I'm self-motivated, but no doubt about it, that needed to happen very early on in my career for that," Austin said. "No doubt, I mean, it's definitely a very pivotal moment because I just learned the severity of not paying attention to detail. When you're a young guy, you kind of get away with not paying attention to detail and going through the motions. But that was a situation right there where I learned the severity of the consequences you pay for not honing in and not paying attention to detail."

Popular in the Community