Right now, the call that Austin Mack was supposed to be making was to lineup a date for Folsom High School’s Homecoming Dance this fall.
Instead, the calls the 6-6, 226-pound freshman has made the last few mornings have been at Husky Stadium were he aligns his receivers, tight ends and running backs.
On a couple of plays his dance partner was edge rusher Maurice Heims, Austin, Harnetiaux, and Sekai Asoau-Afoa who combined for 5 touch sacks. However, if the defense hadn’t gotten to Mack it probably would have said more about the defense than about Mack.
After the late flip of 2023 quarterback Lincoln Keinholz to Ohio State, then the high school junior from Folsom, California committed to Washington. He later reclassified to the 2023 and was on campus this June.
Sunday was his first big opportunity to showcase his talent to the Washington coaches, players and media and he didn’t disappoint. He put on a display of a skill set that is uncommon of a 17-year old high schooler.
And let’s keep his age in perspective: When edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui stepped onto campus in 2018 Mack was in 7th grade.
Even so, Washington’s defensive coaches weren’t holding back on the youngster. With Heisman-candidate Michael Penix taking a couple of days off, DeBoer decided to accelerate the timetable of Mack’s growth.
It also gave a glimpse into the growth of Dillon Morris.
The freshman was able to lead the 2nd and 3rd team offenses in every rep of the 11-on-11 scrimmages throughout practice.
The 6-6 quarterback took turns with Dylan Morris who ran the 1st team while Michael Penix has taken a few days off after a heavy throwing workload on Saturday.
While Mack showed off his immense talent others his own age are busy soaking up the last days of summer break before their senior year.
He turned 17 in June, and is already penciled in as the 3rd string quarterback on a team with national championship aspirations. Most kids in his position would not be ready to compete at this level, but Austin Mack has the raw skills to compete.
Mack moves well and gets his hips turned when rolling out to make a pass and has a strong arm that will play beautifully at the D-1 level—especially in Kalen DeBoer’s pass heavy offense.
Some balls were in the perfect place with plenty of pace to spots that only the receiver could get his hands on, and only a few got away.
From the results of practice he is very comfortable throwing to quick players in the intermediate areas of the field. Many times he hooked up with Giles Jackson for chunk yards.
The biggest area of development will be his consistency.
However, credit the Washington coaches and players for taking the time to make sure he got the play right as it took 6-7 seconds longer than Morris or Penix to get a play off.
Despite the slow churn at times, there are valuable reps which will accelerate his ascension into a B1G starter.
The talent is clearly there.
Of course he struggled with the rush that got home 4-5 times, but this is one of the more aggressive pass rush teams in the country.
As practice wore on the mistakes were fewer although he had a tough time connecting on deep balls a couple of times.
Even with some of the struggles that were shown on Sunday, it is evident why the Huskies wanted to get him in.
Physically, he is ready. He has a head start on his understanding of the playbook, the speed of the game, and the position specific improvements that will make him a great option as the leader of the program in a few short years.
