Belleville’s Austin Seibert taken in NFL draft by Cleveland Browns

Belleville native Austin Seibert’s dream came true on Saturday.

A 2015 graduate of Belleville West High School, who went on to set numerous Big 12 Conference and FBS kicking records at the University of Oklahoma, was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the National Football League Draft in Nashville.

The 5-9, 213-pound Seibert was the 32nd selection in the fifth round and 170th selection overall. Projected to be taken in the sixth or seventh round, Seibert was the third kicker/punter taken during the final day of the seven-round draft.

Placekicker Matt Gay from the University of Utah was taken by Tampa Bay with the seventh pick of the fifth round while Stanford punter Jake Bailey was taken 25th in the fifth round by the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

Special teams were a particular problem for the Browns last season. Four of their eight losses were by 3-points-or-fewer and they missed almost 18 percent of their extra points, which was worst in the NFL.

Draft analyst Mark Dulgerian of nfl.com writes that bodes well for Seibert, who will compete immediately for starting duty in Cleveland.

Though it’s not considered his specialty, Seibert also could step in and compete for the punter’s job as well.

The Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year in 2018, Seibert ranks first in school and Big 12 Conference history in points with 499 and first in FBS history in career extra points (310) and extra point attempts (315). He connected of 63-of-79 field goal attempts (79.7 percent) with a career best of 51 yards in his brilliant four year career at Oklahoma.]

In his final two years, Seibert made 34-of-40 attempts. Also one of the top punters in the Big 12 Conference, Seibert averaged 41.7 yards on his 179 college attempts. Oklahoma won four straight Big 12 Conference championships and advanced to the College Football playoff semifinals three times during his four year career.

Seibert could not be reached for comment by BND press deadline Saturday.

This story was originally published April 27, 2019 at 2:47 PM.