Austin Mack still blazing own trail, building Ohio State legacy

Austin Mack had a path in mind, and it absolutely did not matter that it had not before been traveled by anyone at Fort Wayne, Ind., powerhouse Bishop Luers.

Mack, then a national recruit with scholarship offers from a Who’s Who of college football, not only was bent on graduating high school early to enroll at the next level — but the indomitable Mack was going to do so with honors.

He was, after all, already entertaining thoughts of medical school. Mack’s former prep coach remembers a kid who always saw the full picture before he moved on to Ohio State.

“The spotlight came onto him throughout his career, and I don’t think he really changed at all as a person, which makes a kid like that even more special,” veteran Bishop Luers coach Kyle Lindsay told Lettermen Row. “I had him in the classroom a couple semesters, social studies and history. He was primarily in honors classes throughout his career. Academically, he pushed himself and I know he still does. He was the first person at Luers to ever graduate early, and that was something that he kind of took on on his own.

“Austin made sure that he completed enough credits during summer and even took some online courses [his final year] to put himself in that position. He maintained honor status the entire time. It was really impressive to see for a young man like that, especially being so talented on the football field.”

Even now, Mack’s considerable talents are not contained to the football field. President of the Redefining Athletic Standards organization, with a goal of illuminating the entire student-athlete and not merely the athlete, Mack is cognizant of his all-encompassing goals.

“I’d say it’s very important, it’s a big passion of mine,” Mack said in the week leading into his three-catch, 66-yard and one-touchdown effort in the 48-7 win at Nebraska. “We have done a lot of good things in the past year. For me personally, I’ve tried to eliminate a lot of distractions going into this last season knowing it’s my last season. I’m very involved and want to keep that up, knowing that is part of my legacy once I leave here.”

The Nebraska game and his status as veteran leader amongst a burgeoning group of receivers are just part of why Mack’s legacy still is very much being defined for the No. 4 Buckeyes, who this week received seven first-place votes and host No. 25 Michigan State Saturday night.

“He is just a natural leader, and his leadership abilities showed even as an underclassman,” Lindsay said. “When we have young men who show a lot of promise on the field that aren’t living up to their end on the classroom, Austin Mack is one of the first examples we’ll use. He’s your shining example that you wish if you had even the least talented kids in your program, if you had that mindset of getting better, as a program and a community, you’d be a lot better.

“He’s left a lot of contributions and left a legacy he probably doesn’t even realize he has, today, three-and-a-half years later.”

Not to gloss over Mack’s on-field lore, either. A consensus four-star prospect whose recruitment came down to Ohio State and Notre Dame, Mack’s moments remain fresh on Lindsay’s frequently watched YouTube videos.

“Anytime I get on YouTube, I’m a subscriber to a local channel that is called Summit City Sports, and it’s got his performance six-touchdown performance against Carroll High School his senior year,” Lindsay said. “He had like 443 all-purpose yards. He just put the team on his back. We lost our All-State quarterback in the first quarter that night, and we felt like we had a heck of a game plan to get Austin the ball.

“He ended up playing tailback most of the night and just went off.”

Lindsay and Mack even effectively executed a deft bait-and-switch in that contest to help change the tenor of the game.

“It looked like Carroll was going to run away with game heading into half, we were down two scores, with 10 seconds left, and they kicked the ball deep,” Lindsay recalled. “We had cheated Austin up to dare their kicker to try to put it in the end zone. Now, Austin was a centerfielder and he would have been a heck of a baseball player; his baseball coach during that time thought he was a Major League talent, and that coach doesn’t say things like that about many kids. Anyhow, he’s back deep in the middle and they kick it, Austin gets it outside numbers, between the numbers and the sidelines, catches it at the 1, turns around and runs 99 yards, crosses the field, and he looked like he didn’t break a stride.

“Probably the most impressive return I’ve seen, just to catch it and then do what he did with it.”

As much as Lindsay recalls every moment of that play, he more remembers Mack’s grace throughout both his high school years and the recruiting process.

“We had Jaylon Smith [now starring for the Dallas Cowboys], and I know it came down to Notre Dame or Ohio State,” Lindsay said. “I think ultimately he really loved Coach [Urban] Meyer, and the coaches did heck of a job establishing a relationship with him.

“I think more than anything he was really impressed with the medical program at Ohio State. He was thinking about being a pediatrician or something along that line to work with kids in the medical field. Notre Dame obviously is a very prestigious school in itself, but he did his homework and it was pretty impressive to see him go through the whole process. He kept his head, focused on grades and teammates and becoming a better player and doing what he could to help his team win.

“For a kid to have that level of humility was impressive and something I’ll always remember.”

It’s why Austin Mack already is being remembered at Ohio State, on and off the field.