OL Mack Chooses Auburn Over USC

OL Mack picks Auburn after dropping USC

Written by NEIL WHITE
nwhite@thestate.com

Posted on 01.20.10

ST. MATTHEWS, SC - One day after decommitting from South Carolina, Eric Mack sat at a table in Room C101 at John Ford Middle School and quickly and quietly ended the drama over his college choice.

The All-American offensive lineman from Calhoun County High is going to SEC rival Auburn instead.

He summed up his change of heart simply.

“I just like the school,” he said, citing his September visit. “I learned so much about it. I feel like that’s a place I can call home.”

Although he originally committed to USC last July, he kept his options open, as many recruits do. His visit last fall opened his eyes, and he began to change his mind after playing in the Under Armour All-American Game earlier this month in St. Petersburg, Fla., where a number of other Auburn commitments also participated.

“I like the environment. I like the family atmosphere, the players, the school. I like the whole thing,” he said.

He let the USC coaching staff know Tuesday that he was no longer coming to USC. And he never seriously considered any other schools besides Auburn, which won the Outback Bowl to finish 8-5 this past season.

“I want to thank the Carolina coaches, but now I feel like this is not the right place for me,” he said.

He said coaches in both programs talked of the prospect of early playing time, but he said that didn’t factor into his decision. He also acknowledged the departure of offensive line coach Eric Wolford to Youngstown State played a small role in what he termed a “hard” decision.

“(It) had a little bit of impact. We had a good relationship,” he said.

Mack’s situation proved to be the opposite of what former Calhoun County teammate Alshon Jeffery did a year ago, when he backed off a commitment to Southern Cal on the way to signing with South Carolina, where he enjoyed a standout freshman season.

Early in the past season Jeffery was telling Mack to come to USC, but as the process went along, Mack said Jeffery told him to “just go wherever you feel comfortable.”

For Calhoun County coach Walt Wilson, that is what matters the most to him as well.

“Going to an in-state school is something special, but I can’t allow it to affect what he thinks,” Wilson said. “He told me that he thinks (Auburn) feels like home. When he told me that, what do you say? Send me a cap.”

After watching both Jeffery and Mack go through an intense recruiting process in consecutive years, Wilson has discovered that both players and the programs recruiting them have to make decisions that suit their needs.

“You must always keep it about business,” Wilson said. “My thing is to send them to a place where they can be developed on the field and in the classroom. I want them to be comfortable.”

Wilson understands that fans aren’t always going to like the final decisions, but he believes they should respect them. He doesn’t like the bashing players take on Internet message boards if they decide to go out of state.

“It’s anger and they’ll get over it,” said Wilson, who noted USC fans were happy when Jeffery backed off his Southern Cal commitment to become a Gamecock. “As long as Mack’s happy, I’m happy,” he said.

Mack looked happy as he made his announcement, his change of mind complete days after an official visit to USC that reportedly did not go well. He said that he felt comfortable with leaving his 2-year-old daughter Kaliyah in the care of his mother, Wymette Sellers, while he heads to the Alabama school.

“Gamecock fans are real mad at me, but my friends and family are real happy for me,” Mack said. “I could care less what the fans think.”

Wilson is convinced the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Mack is on his way to bigger things.

“Mack is going to be a great player. He has a passion. You’ve got to love what you do in life. That’s going to make him a Sunday player,” Wilson said.

With the national signing date two weeks away, Mack says the door is closed on his recruiting.

“I’m not going to rethink this one.”