The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder, who was regarded as a four-star running back prospect by Scout.com and Rivals.com, gave a verbal commitment to the Cavaliers before the start of his senior season and Wednesday finalized his pledge to the program by signing his National Letter of Intent.
"I always had a dream I could do it, but I didn't think it was going to be this big," Mack said about his goal of playing college football.
Mack was all smiles when he slipped on a Virginia T-shirt and officially signed up to become a Cavalier in front of his parents, Stratford coach Duane Shirden, athletic director Bob Baird and teammate Octavias McKoy, who will attend Garden City Community College in Kansas.
"It feels pretty good to get it all out of the way," said Mack, who was ranked the No. 1 New England player by Scout and SuperPrep. "There was a lot of pressure during the recruiting process, so it feels good to get it all squared away."
Fortunately for Mack and McKoy, they could share the recruiting process together in addition to splitting time in the Stratford backfield the past couple of years.
"It was great," McKoy said. "Being best friends and going through the exact same phases, I couldn't ask for more than that. It's going to be sad to see it end, but we are going to stay tight."
Mack, who
McKoy, who runs a 4.5 in the 40, hopes to eventually move to a NCAA Division I program after a year or two at the Kansas school, which is where former NFL running back Corey Dillon attended before the University of Washington.
"It's a great day for Stratford High School," Shirden said. "I knew when they came into Stratford High School they could definitely go somewhere, they just had to stay focused and humble. I'm proud of both of them."
On the defensive side, Mack collected 40 tackles, a sack and three interceptions last fall for the Red Devils, but his focus in college will be running with the football.
As a junior, Mack put up better numbers when he rushed for 1,689 yards and 21 touchdowns. Virginia must think highly of Mack; he is the lone running back in its incoming class.
"I don't see too much pressure," Mack said, with a smile. "Coach (Al) Groh's exact words were, 'I'm going to put the ball in your hands and its up to you to decide what you are going to do with it.'"
Mack will head to Virginia in early July to start a few summer classes before football practice begins. In addition to playing collegiate football, he also wants to take advantage of its strong academic reputation.
"If I don't make it in football, I have to be able to provide for myself," Mack said.
Among the schools Mack also considered were UConn, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Florida, Penn State, Boston College, Syracuse, Iowa and Maryland.
In the end, Virginia caught his heart after visiting the campus last year.
"I liked chilling with the players, getting to know them and feeling like part of the team," Mack said.
And know he's a member of that team.
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