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football Edit

Mack gives AM a commit with massive potential

Gladewater defensive tackle Daylon Mack has more potential as a prospect than any other member of the 2015 class but recently has had a tendency to be downgraded for two specific reasons. First, he is just over 6 feet tall and most people would like their defensive tackles to be a little taller so they can take on longer opponents (especially with their hands) and keep them away from their bodies. In addition, Mack has not progressed as much as observers would like because he plays at a small program in east Texas and doesn't get the same level of coaching as you would find at Class 4A and 5A schools in major metropolitan areas. In conjunction with this aspect of his development, he is rarely challenged by anyone when he plays which is capable of affecting his motivation.
Even so, Mack has significant attributes that can't be overlooked when drawing conclusions about him as a player at the college level. First, he has a great first step and lateral movement. Mack doesn't even really know how to use his hands yet but when he gets them on people, it's just all over because he is into them so quickly. I draw your attention to the Rivals100 Challenge this summer in a one on one with Arizona lineman and Texas A&M target Casey Tucker. Tucker sets up and is physically ready to meet Mack's charge and then Mack turns his right shoulder into him under his chest, breaks up Tucker's hands, and gets him going backwards even though Mack's hands never even got to Tucker's chest. Tucker is a legit four star left tackle prospect and is a year older and technically sound -- and it was over very soon into the matchup because Mack won first contact. Mack also displays a surprising lightness on his feet that's evident when he spins around Tucker in another one on one after he gets him going another way.
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This past summer, Mack had trouble with a guy like Damien Mama who's 6 foot 5 and 360 pounds because Mack didn't get his hands on him and Mama's too big to pushed around by bulk alone. Mack had similar issues with Mississippi's Javan Patterson who had enough weight to take Mack's initial charge and not give up much ground on their first go round. However, Mack learned and on his second try at Patterson he got just one hand inside on Patterson, broke his grip, and then pushed him back with just his right shoulder.
Film shot at the Rivals Camp Series in Dallas during the spring gives an indication of just how explosive Mack is. He gets off the ball gets into a blocker on his second step and the blocker is already going backwards due to Mack's initial push. Mack attacks the blocker's right side and gets both hands onto them. He uses his hands for leverage and continues to push the defender backwards who never gets a chance to set up and actually try to stalemate him, and proceeds to run down the blocker and the blocking dummy being used as a quarterback.
Physically, Mack isn't like a lot of prospects from smaller programs in that he's overweight or out of shape. At this point in time, he's not someone that A&M will have to reshape his body in order to get rid of bad weight. That doesn't mean that he doesn't need to spend time in the weight room but he's naturally strong with a tapered waist.
From a technical standpoint, Mack needs to learn more about foot placement, how to use his hands to break contact with a lineman as opposed to his body, and how to attack someone's shoulder as opposed to their body. It's going to take him time to do so but he is eventually going to be the type of prospect that A&M will be able to line up at a shade technique on a lineman and command a double team. Since it won't be easy for an interior linemen to scoop him and move onto a linebacker at the second level, it means that linebackers playing behind him won't have big linemen in their faces and will have freedom of movement up and down the line of scrimmage. As a result, Mack is the type of prospect that can make other players around him better while he's also trying to make plays in the opposition's backfield.
When you add him to the 2013 haul that includes current starter Isaiah Golden and 2014 Nederland prouduct Deshawn Washington, it's apparent that the Aggies are building not just a good defense but an elite one that can control a game and even take it over as do the units at LSU and Alabama and A&M's defenses did back in the days of the Wrecking Crew.
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