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Austin Booker's homecoming: Roots, redemption and family

By Gabby Hajduk

Newaygo Drive.

Those two words tattooed on Austin Booker's left forearm hold over a decade of memories, both for him and his parents who watched their son transform from a high-energy kid to a 6-foot-6 NFL player.

Booker's childhood home, which is about 10 miles south of downtown Indianapolis, serves as the foundation for his football career. It's where his 'no fear' mentality was born, where his dad taught him the swim move and where he learned to appreciate his roots.

"When I think of Newaygo Drive, it's just motivation to know where I came from," Booker told ChicagoBears.com. "It wasn't great. In Newaygo, we didn't have money, so continuing to have that grind. It's just knowing where I came from and being thankful for where I'm at now."

Along with Newaygo Drive, the entire Indianapolis area is home to Booker and his successes on the field — from YMCA flag football to the Center Grove Bantam Football League (CGBFL) to a Class 6A State Championship win for Center Grove High School.

This Sunday, the rookie defensive end will return to Indianapolis when the Bears face off against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium — a place Booker has experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows of his football life.

While Booker is focused on helping the Bears win, he'll take the field for his third NFL regular-season game with Indianapolis on his mind and body. Literally - the city's skyline inked on his left forearm, just above "Newaygo Drive.

"It's to not forget where I came from. I'm proud to be from Indianapolis," Booker said.

Every time Duaine Booker came home from work throughout Austin's childhood years, it was a gamble on whether or not his son had gotten into trouble around the house.

One day, before Austin was old enough to be in school, Duaine returned home to find the banister on the staircase missing.

"I said to my wife, 'what's going on?'," Duaine recalled. "And Katie's like, 'your son jumped off the top of the stairs, and then on the way down realized that he wasn't going to land, grabbed the banister and ripped it off the wall.'

"He always had this 'no fear' about him."

There was a day Duaine was doing work on the roof. He needed to borrow tool from a neighbor, so he propped a ladder up against the house before heading next door. When he returned, Austin was sitting on the roof.

"My wife is freaking out," Duaine said. "And I'm like, 'you can't freak out. He's already up there. What do you want me to do?' He just had that."

Duaine and Katie turned to sports as a way to let Austin productively release his energy, which was nonstop from the moment he woke up to when his head hit the pillow again. Athletic ability was also in Austin's DNA. His parents met at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana - where Duaine played defensive tackle for the football team and Katie played basketball.

Austin played various sports, including soccer, basketball and baseball. He started playing football at 4 years old in a flag league at the YMCA. Even at a young age, he was a natural on the gridiron. From watching Duaine's semi-pro league practices, Austin already had a baseline understanding of the game and a knack for finding the ball.

The following year, before he started kindergarten, Austin played in Center Grove's flag football program, but that career was short-lived.

"He would actually tackle you then pull the flag," Duaine said. "So we thought, 'okay, we need to probably move him up,' because parents were getting upset about him tackling at flag."

Austin was no stranger to tackle football at that age. He grew up playing football in the yard with his father — learning to catch, and of course, roughhousing — things Duaine remembered his own dad teaching him.

Living in a neighborhood with other families, Austin took part in backyard football games with other kids, who were all two or three years older than him. While there were times Austin would run inside crying because he got slammed to the ground or thrown into the trampoline, he would always quickly regroup, grab a drink or snack and sprint back outside.

"I got a natural physical demeanor just from playing in the backyard with kids that were all older than me," Austin said. "I just got a chip on my shoulder. I don't get messed up [now] because I've been through that already."

Once Austin officially started school, he also joined the CGBFL tackle football team. Like any kindergartener, Austin was learning his ABCs, colors and which words rhyme. But after school, he was no ordinary 5-year-old.

"He always just had the hustle," Duaine said. "He had that extra hitting courage. They always talk about that when you're playing, some kids don't like to hit and Austin was not one of those. He started wanting to be a running back, but he would run and then find somebody to run over. Instead of just running into daylight and getting the first down, he would rather run somebody over."

By the time Austin reached middle school, football had transformed into his passion rather than an energy outlet. He went from playing running back and defensive end to honing in on the latter. In fifth and sixth grade he played for the Junior Trojans — the final stage of CGBFL — and traveled to compete against different programs throughout the state. Austin started asking his dad questions when they would watch film together, curious about how he could improve.

Duaine began to understand his son's dedication to the game, eventually passing down his knowledge of defensive line play onto his son. While Austin learned techniques like swim and spin moves or how to attack a half-man back in first grade, Duaine began explaining the game in greater detail as his soon was getting closer to high school.

Whether it was reading how an offensive lineman's flexed fingers can indicate a run or deciding when to use speed versus power moves depending on the tackle's stance, Duaine shared all his insight.

"I was trying to teach him all that so he would have a competitive edge and do well and feel confident out there," Duaine said. "He would always ask me stuff when he was younger, and I'd be like, 'listen, the biggest thing you can do is hustle, go fast. If you make a mistake, don't worry about it. But if you hustle and go fast and are always giving 100%, good things are gonna happen.' He took that from a young age."

When Austin finally reached high school at Center Grove, his focus on football was briefly deterred by his interest in basketball. Austin was primarily a post player as a freshman and sophomore due to his above average height and wingspan, but Duaine told his son he would likely have to play guard at the collegiate level.

Austin considered his options. While he still had potential to be a college football player, the amount of talent at Center Grove didn't allow Austin to crack the varsity roster his first two seasons. Even though he excelled on junior varsity, he had no live tape to send to colleges. Because he had no film, Austin didn't want to attend any college camps. He stopped asking his dad questions about football and his training slowed down.

Longtime Center Grove football coach and Indiana HS Football Hall of Famer Eric Moore could tell Austin wasn't bought into the program in his first two years. He saw a "basketball kid that played football" who still had plenty of untapped potential on the field.

But at the end of his sophomore year, Austin kept receiving calls from a University of Iowa coach, asking him to come out to their camp. One day at home, Austin came down the stairs and asked Duaine if he would drive him to Iowa City. Duaine, intrigued by Austin's interest, said "of course, when?"

Austin replied, "tomorrow."

"I told him, 'I'm not gonna drive five hours there and five hours back for you not to go out there and dominate like you can,'" Duaine said. "He's like, 'I got you.' We get up early, we drive out there. I said, 'listen, you need to be the first in line. You need to show them what you can do.' He went out there and did exactly what he told me he was gonna do."

The first in line for every drill, Austin didn't lose a pass rush rep.

"Having interest from the colleges around that time kind of shifted my perspective," Austin recalled. "Just knowing that they value what I'm doing on the field made me focus more on football."

Duaine saw a switch flip in his son that day. He saw Austin renew his love for football. Shortly after that camp, Duaine was fielding questions from his son again and watching him dedicate his free time to lifting and training.

"I think he realized, this is something that we've been working on forever," Duaine added. "This is a realization: 'I could go to a D1 school.'"

That summer, Coach Moore witnessed it, too. Austin attended every workout and every practice with a completely different mindset.

The biggest change Moore noticed was that Austin became entirely self-motivated. He had a goal, and he knew football was his calling card. That year, Austin became a starter on Moore's talented defense that finished runner-up at the state championship. The next season as a senior, he helped lead the Trojans to the Class 6A State Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Division I offers rolled in from Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 schools. Austin eventually committed to Minnesota before transferring to Kansas after his sophomore year.

"His work ethic just went up to the 100^th scale," Moore said. "He just became a real dude. He'd become a man and changed his body, changed everything about everything he did — his attitude.

"Going into that junior year, he turned into a football player that plays basketball. I think at that point, it all turned around."

Nearly five months removed from the NFL Draft, Duaine still pinches himself. Sure, it's hit him that his son is an NFL player for the Chicago Bears, just a few hours away from home, but it still feels unbelievable at times. It's a once-in-a-lifetime moment — the one percent of the one percent.

When Duaine started teaching Austin football nearly two decades ago, he never thought "NFL." Duane and Katie's original goal for Austin and both of their daughters was for them to find something that could help pay for their college education, whether it was music, art or sports.

They both left Taylor University — an NAIA school that had limited scholarship opportunities — with students loans. They want different for their three kids.

Watching their son not only play in the NFL, but do so in a stadium filled with countless family memories Sunday could lead to some tears and feelings of nostalgia for the proud parents.

"I thought maybe he'd go somewhere local, get a good education, leave with no debt, and start a business or work for somebody," Duaine said. "But he really worked hard on just staying focused. I'm just — I'm proud of him."

Austin takes pride in returning to Indianapolis and playing well in his home city, but as always, the game of football and winning takes priority.

The first time Austin played in Lucas Oil, he lost the State Championship, the second was a State victory and the third was the NFL Combine, where he felt his performance was subpar. Sunday is about getting back in the win column in that building and doing so with pride for his hometown right on his arm.

"This one I need some redemption," Austin said. "I'm grateful to be able to share that with my family and have my people in the stands."