Pleasants achieving success but knows his journey is far from over

COAL GROVE — Reinhold Messner is considered one of the greatest mountain climbers of all-time.

And while Austen Pleasants has never climbed anything like Mount Everest, he’s well aware of what it takes to climb a mountain.

A mountain of a man at 6-foot-7, 330-pounds, the 27-year-old Pleasants has fought his way up the NFL playing mountain with eight different stops during his six years in the league.

After being an All-Ohio lineman for the Coal Grove Hornets, Pleasants signed with the Ohio Bobcats where he played in 28 games including 20 as a starter and was an All-Mid-American Conference selection.

He signed a free agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020 and was on the practice squad in 2020-2021. That was followed by a practice squad with the Carolina Panthers from 2021-2022.

It was during his time with the Panthers that Pleasants played in his first NFL game when Carolina played the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 27, 2021.

In the 2022 season, Pleasants also played with the Los Angeles Chargers and to start the 2023 season before making stops with the Arizona Cardinals and back to the Chargers.

He returned to the Cardinals in 2024 and ended up with the Chicago Bears.

But it was also in that 2024 season that Pleasants signed with the San Francisco 49ers.

And this time, he stuck.

In fact, Pleasants not only earned a spot on the 53-man roster last season, it marked the first time in his career that he didn’t start on the practice squad.

“It was great. It definitely was good to see that hard work that I put in pay off a little bit. That didn’t have a whole lot to do with me. It was God. That was God working in my life. He made me wait for it,” said Pleasants.

“But it’s not over yet. It’s something I’m working at to get better one day at a time. Without the guys around me, the coaches, and the family and all the people that helped me out along the way, I wouldn’t have gotten to that point. It was definitely a good feeling to get out there and get some film out.”

Pleasants reached the top of his NFL climb when he made his first start last season after being forced into action early the previous week.

In game 17, offensive tackle Trent Williams pulled a hamstring against the Chicago Bears and Pleasants was sent in as his replacement. The 49ers won 23-10.

The following week was the first playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks which was Pleasants’ first NFL start. Pleasants played well again but the 49ers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions, 27-20.

“The week before I go in the second play. I think it was actually better that way, not to have the whole week to be like, I’m the guy. So, it was definitely more nerves going into the next week when I was starting,” said Pleasants.

“But after the first play or so, it’s just football again. All that goes out the window and you’re there.”

Playing with a lot of teams, sometimes twice, proved to be a compliment to Pleasants’ determination, grit, and faith.

And maybe one more thing.

“A good agent, I guess,” said Pleasants with a laugh.

“After you’ve been around for a while, your name is out there, you have film from preseason, the little bit of games I had with the Chargers, and then you get a call for a workout. If you’re good at the workout, they give you a shot. I got my shot.”

Not only were the 49ers the team that gave Pleasants his golden opportunity to play, he said that the organization was the best he has seen, especially general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. He said from what he has witnessed, it’s not surprising that the organization is a consistent winner.

“From the top down, you could tell that the main thing was the main thing, and that was winning football games. Getting better to win football games. When everybody has that mindset, it makes everything so much easier and so much better,” said Pleasants.

That winning attitude is exhibited in the team as well, said Pleasants.

“Every locker room is a little bit different, but the corps group of guys we have is really player led. It has definitely revitalized my love of the game being around those guys, seeing how they work, the attitude they bring in every day,” said Pleasants.

“Brock (Purdy), George (Kittle), Nick (Bosa), it’s nice to see those guys and how they work and how they operate. It’s definitely helped me a lot.”

The 49ers offensive line has Jake Brendel at center, Robert Jones and Dominick Puni at the guards, and Trent Williams and Colton McKivitz the tackles. The backups are guards Connor Colby and Carver Willis, center Brett Toth, and tackles Enrique Cruz Jr. and Pleasants.

As an offensive lineman, Pleasants is part of the what is always a close-knit group on any team.

“The O-Line is always a special group on any team. Being around different teams you can tell quickly the teams that have a tight-knit offensive line. They’re definitely a step ahead of every other team because the offensive group that we truly work off of each other,” said Pleasants.

“Our only job is to make other people look better. There’s no glory. That bond has to be strong, especially offense, for a team to go a long way. So, we definitely move as a group. It’s a special relationship you have with other offensive linemen.”

Although he is mainly playing left tackle, Pleasants said offensive linemen usually play more than one spot on the line. He said he also knows how to play guard but center has been hard to grasp.

“I’m still a guard and tackle, and preferably a tackle. As long as I keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll stay at tackle. I feel like I continue to improve. That’s the goal, right? Get better every day,” said Pleasants.

Having finally reached the top of his personal Mount Everest, Pleasants is not about to get complacent and be satisfied with what he has accomplished so far.

“Every camp, every season is different. What’s happened in the past is in the past. There’s no getting that back. I just look at today and what I can do today to get better,” said Pleasants.

“It’s always what’s next. Once a play is over, it’s over. Whether it’s good or bad, there’s no getting it back, so you’ve got to move on to the next thing. It’s a great opportunity to show what we (the 49ers) can do. Any time you get a chance to play a football game, it’s a good day.”

Pleasants was back on the Coal Grove Hornets’ game field on Tuesday as he conducted his third annual youth football camp. Pleasants said it is important to him to give back to the community that embraced him during his high school career.

“It’s always a good time to get back. I’m actually living here. Two, three days a week I’m actually training here on the field, sometimes in the weight room with the high school and middle school athletes. It’s always fun to get back and give back to my community. This is where my love of the game started and where I formed this relationship I have with football. It’s something special.”

Pleasants and his wife, Leah, have two boys, Barrett and Beau, and they have a daughter on the way.

“I’m really looking forward to it. We were hoping for a girl,” said Pleasants.

“Our oldest is two and a half and all he knows is Daddy works at the football stadium. Any time he sees, it doesn’t matter what team is on the field, he says ‘Go 49ers. Go Daddy.’ That’s his extent of what he knows.”