NFL Draft can't come soon enough for Alex Mack

(Photo by Bryan Tan/Blue & Gold Yearbook)

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Alex Mack never expected to be in the situation he's in now.  Although, becoming a professional football player may have been a far-off dream at times, it was never something he thought could be possible for him.

Coming out of high school, Mack was a two-star player with an offer from UCLA to play defensive tackle and an offer from Cal to play on the offensive line.

That's it.  119 Div I schools and only UCLA and Cal offered him a chance to play for his education.

Not only was Mack a CIF heavyweight champion with a 26-1 record his senior year, but he was a two-way star in football as a defensive tackle/end and an offensive tackle/center.

He took one recruiting trip - a trip to Berkeley.

"One of the reasons I really chose to go to Cal was because of the academics here," said Mack by phone on the eve of the NFL Draft.

"I mean, I love playing football and I'll do it as long as I can, but coming out of high school I wasn't sure I'd be able to play this game.  That's why I knew I had to have a good education and now I'm about to be paid for playing a game I love."

It's a dream come true for the two-time Morris Trophy winner and this year's Draddy Trophy recipient, except he was unsure that he would get any dreaming done the night before the draft.

We're gonna' see if that (getting sleep) happens.  I'm not sure.

Mack is arguably the safest pick of the draft.  First, he brings a resume' to the NFL that is based on performance on the field and off - with awards for both.  Secondly, since becoming Cal's starting center his sophomore year, he's never missed a snap - so injuries aren't a concern.  Most importantly, he is a player with a nonstop motor who plays from snap to whistle - easily seen on any game tape.

There's only one problem.  Centers aren't normally taken in the first round.  Why?  "I think it's just tradition," Mack says.  "There's a couple centers to break that mold and I hope to join their ranks.  The last one was Nick Mangold for the Jets and there is no explanation as far as I can tell."

Teams grab a tackle they hope will become a good player versus a center or guard who is a good player.  So, it's just odd.  I don't know.
- Mack on why centers aren't taken high in the draft.

It's safe to say that he's on the radar of all 32 NFL teams until one of them finally makes the decision to take him in the draft.  Mack is preparing for anything past the 19th pick of the draft, beginning with Detroit who has the 20th pick.  The star center isn't sure where he's going, but he's got an idea of where.

Yeah, we think it's anywhere from [pick] 20 to [pick] 32, is what we're hoping. Of course we're hoping I'll be taken up in the first round.  So anywhere from 20 to 32, there's any number of teams that would take me, that would be a good fit.  So, Detroit or...Minnesota is up there.  There's Atlanta, Miami, Baltimore, Arizona, and Pittsburgh.  Any of those teams.  We're excited.  There's also some amount of talk, some of the teams in the second round moving up to take me in the bottom of the first.

So it's very possible that Mack will get his wish to join Mangold and the other centers who have been picked in the elusive first round.  There's only one problem.  Depending on who you believe, he isn't rated as the top center in this year's draft.  Some mock draft experts have him as the first, second, or third best center in this draft.

The debate over who should be called the best center doesn't faze him.  "That kind of thing is going to happen," says Mack.  "What it really comes down to is how one team feels about me."  He feels like he's done everything he can do at this point.

I really can't have any control over that.  I've played the best I can, I've done everything I could do at the Senior Bowl, I played the best I could at my pro day and everything, but when it comes down to it, you gotta' wait and see what happens.

His former line coach, Jim Michalczk, is now working with the Oakland Raiders, who have the seventh pick of the draft.  It's unlikely that he'll be reunited with his mentor unless the Raiders make the expected, unexpected moves on draft day.

I've talked to their line coach.  I mean me and Coach M, we really did five years together so we maintain a relationship.  But as far as them taking me, I pressed him to take me at number seven, but he's not sure if he's able to do that, so we'll see.

Mack doesn't have a favorite team.  When he was a freshman in high school, he watched high school ball.  When he was a senior in high school, he began to watch college teams and it's only been until recently that he started watching NFL teams.  His favorite team will be the one that drafts him on Saturday.

Pretty much every team has been the same, like, 'We like you a lot, you're a great person, you're a great player, but we're not sure.'  They're gonna' wait 'til draft day.  Even if they did know, I don't think they'd tell me.  Because someone would just jump them.

As with all of the players who will be patiently waiting to hear their name called this weekend, Mack wishes he already knew what team was going to draft him without reservation.  He'd just like to know what kind of safety net his draft stock really has.

It would be really nice to hear, 'Yeah!  For sure we're gonna' take you Alex.  We're gonna' take you at this spot right here, you're gonna be ah, so and so...'  That would be very comforting to know, but of course they don't tell you that.  So I'm just going to be on pins and needles come Saturday.

It could take anywhere from 15 minutes to over five hours before Mack finds out where he's moving next.  The toughest thing about waiting is how slow the clock moves when you are.

Yeah, I'm pretty fired up for tomorrow.  It's been a long time coming and now that it's so close, it's taking...hours are crawling by.

If he thought the hours were 'crawling by' on Friday, I wonder how slow they went as he stared up at the ceiling into the wee hours of Saturday morning.  Sleep or no sleep, when the commissioner comes to the podium and calls the name Alex Mack from California, it will all feel like a dream.

Check back later for more of my interview with Alex Mack!