A participant in last month's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., Blythe had the opportunity to show that his talent outweighs a smaller size than most offensive linemen.
Austin Blythe isn't the biggest and he surely isn't the fastest, but the University of Iowa product is confident that he is a player that can become an NFL contributor at some point over the next few years.
"I think I'm just going to give them an opportunity to see who Austin Blythe is," Blythe told Redskins.com at last month's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. "A guy who works hard, he's dependable, he's athletic, and he's a guy who can play. Regardless of what people may say about my size, I think I can play football just the way I am. So just to come down here and have the opportunity to prove that to people is really good."
Indeed, Blythe is on the smaller end of the scale for offensive linemen, as he's just a shade over 6-feet tall and weighs 291 pounds.
In comparison to some of the other interior offensive linemen, All-American Stanford guard Josh Garnett checked in at 317 pounds during the Senior Bowl weigh-in session while Michigan center Graham Glasgow tipped the scales at 306 pounds.
Despite the smaller stature, Blythe is still "an athletic, physical, tough guy who's dependable and durable. Played a lot of games at Iowa, whoever drafts me is going to get a guy who is going to come in and work hard."
Blythe, 23, was named a first-team All-American by Scout.com in 2012 after starting nine games at right guard for the Hawkeyes.
But before the start of his redshirt sophomore season in 2013, Blythe was asked to make the transition to center.
The move paid dividends for both the team and for the Williamsburg, Iowa, native, as he was named an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection after starting all 13 games under center.
During his junior season, Blythe was selected as a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the conference's coaches.
It was then when he had another nationally recognizable offensive lineman playing next to him: Washington Redskins guard Brandon Scherff.
Scherff, who played tackle during his college career, played all but one snap for the Redskins during his rookie season at right guard.
Next to him last season were three different centers – Kory Lichtensteiger, Josh LeRibeus and Brian de la Puente – who all got at least 20 snaps during the season.
With de la Puente no longer on the team and LeRibeus a pending unrestricted free agent, there's always the possibility Blythe and Scherff could become teammates once again.
"Yeah I've talked to Brandon a little bit, just asking kind of what the prognosis is for center position in Washington and he says they might need one, so definitely an option," Blythe said. "It'd be really cool, it'd be kind of ironic to head there with him, but we'll see. Anywhere I go is going to be a really big opportunity for me and I'm going to work hard for it."
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