NCAA Scouting – Player Profile: Alex Mack, C, California by Jody Jamieson 7/2/2009
The Senior Bowl week is a great time for some head to head positional battles to take place. This year one of the more intriguing battles for Draft position was between Alex Mack of Cal and Max Unger of Oregon for the position of number one center prospect in 2009. Mack went in as the favourite and no doubt came out of the week in Mobile as the winner, although not because of anything Unger did wrong, but more that Mack proved his worth all week as one of the better center prospects of the last few years.
Mack was the 2008 winner of the Draddy Trophy, awarded to the college football athlete who shows the best combination of academic excellence, community service off the field, and performance of the field. Many know the award as the “Academic Heisman” Trophy. Mack joins NFL stars such as Peyton Manning, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Chad Pennington as winners of the award. Scouts will love this as academic excellence translates well to football smarts in a lot of cases, making Mack not only a sure thing to be Drafted early, but likely a Week 1 starter in September. Mack may project well as a guard, but it will be at center where he projects as not only a solid starter, but a potential All-Pro. Too much hype too early? Maybe, but Mack looks special.
What we like about Mack
Mack has tremendous size and strength for a center. Will be tough to slow down and has a motor that never stops. Stays very low and drives to the second level. Great football smarts and is a true leader of the offensive line. Doesn’t spend much time in the treatment room. Will likely be a beast in the running game, while being very solid in pass protection.
Question Marks about Mack
Sometimes Mack is a little over aggressive, which can lead to him being beaten. Isn’t the greatest athlete to play interior lineman but can make up for it by being fairly quick. Mack can be beaten by pure power do to a slight concern over his footwork.
Highlight of his college career
Among the many awards Mack received in his college career including the Draddy Trophy, Mack was voted all Pac 10 in every year he started, and was a 2 time winner of the Morris Trophy, awarded to the top offensive lineman in the Pac 10.
Other snippets
6′ 4″ tall and weighed in at 312 lbs at the Senior Bowl. Was part of the Golden Bears offensive line in 2006 and 2007 that gave up just 24 sacks combined over that 2 year span. (ranked 3rd in the nation) Will likely have a higher Draft grade than 06 center prospect Nick Mangold, who went 29th overall to the New York Jets. Could go as high as #11 to Buffalo (although I think they might trade down to get him) but will likely be taken in the first round.
NCAA Scouting – Player Profile:
Mack was the 2008 winner of the Draddy Trophy, awarded to the college football athlete who shows the best combination of academic excellence, community service off the field, and performance of the field. Many know the award as the “Academic Heisman” Trophy. Mack joins NFL stars such as Peyton Manning, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Chad Pennington as winners of the award. Scouts will love this as academic excellence translates well to football smarts in a lot of cases, making Mack not only a sure thing to be Drafted early, but likely a Week 1 starter in September. Mack may project well as a guard, but it will be at center where he projects as not only a solid starter, but a potential All-Pro. Too much hype too early? Maybe, but Mack looks special.
