Former Gulf Breeze High School and Florida State University shotput champion Austin Droogsma is now a New York Giants football player.
Droogsma, who was listed by the Giants as 6 feet 4 inches and 345 pounds, on Sunday signed a three-year contract after being invited to attend the Giants’ rookie mini camp last week in Newark, New Jersey.
He’ll play offensive guard, and it’s his first time back playing football since high school.
Following graduation from GBHS he focused on shot put and discus at FSU, where he earned a degree in criminology.
His dad, Mike, also threw shot put and discus at FSU. But Mike points out that Austin’s mom, Trish, a former GBHE teacher who now teaches at Santa Rosa High, was also a standout athlete.
“She was a multi-sport athlete and cheerleader, ran the hurdles, high jumped and competed on relay races in high school track, and has been teaching for over 30 years. She has been the ‘constant’ in our family that made everything else possible, raising three college graduates,” Mike said. “She gave birth to a 10-plus pound baby boy who is now a pro football player. It takes one hell of a mom to build a kid that big, smart, strong and caring.”
