Former Northwestern star Austin Carr impressing at Patriots Camp

As the Patriots prepare for their Week 2 preseason game versus the Houston Texans one undrafted free agent has been making his mark in camp.

The New England Patriots may have unearthed another undrafted star. Former Northwestern wide receiver Austin Carr has always been an underdog. After his time at Benicia High School, he was not highly recruited. He joined Northwestern as a walk on and was forced to earn his roster spot. He did not see playing until his sophomore season of 2014 and really exploded onto the scene last year.

As a redshirt senior a year ago, Carr won the Big Ten Receiver of the Year award. Over the course of the season, he racked up 1,247 receiving yards, the school record, and tied the school record with 12 touchdowns.

His story from his college years were great ones. He seemed to always be in the running as an Academic All American and was able to build himself a successful college experience off and on the field.

When the NFL Draft rolled around in April, it became clear that Austin Carr would not be a shoe in for a camp invite. He was one the many players whose names were not called.

Despite that, all one needs to do is look at his character to see why coach Bill Belichick of New England Patriots gave Carr a chance. He was signed as an undrafted rookie and recently turned heads the Jacksonville Jaguars in his debut.

Carr had five receptions for 44 yards and found the end zone once. And boy what an impressive touchdown it was.

It goes with out saying that Carr will need to do a lot more to make the roster. The Patriots roster is filled with stars so a practice squad nod may be the best case scenario. However, even making the practice squad with the Patriots would be an ideal situation. Nobody knows how to get more out of a slot receiver than that team.

Next: Freshman WR Riley Lees could be a major weapon for Northwestern

Football has always seemed to be an uphill climb for Austin Carr, but he continues to overcome the odds. We will all be pulling for him to over come the odds in New England as we did for years at Northwestern.