Early life

Mack was raised by his parents, high school sweethearts Yolanda, a teacher, and Sandy Mack, Sr., a program specialist, in Fort Pierce, Florida. He has an older brother, Sandy, Jr., and a younger brother, LeDarius. His father introduced him to sports at the age of five years. Mack took an early liking to baseball and basketball although he did play Pop Warner football.

Mack attended Fort Pierce Westwood High School in Fort Pierce. He had been relying on basketball to get him a college scholarship but his plans were dashed by a tear in his patella tendon before his sophomore season. After this injury, high school football coach Waides Ashmon recruited him to the sport, promising Mack and his parents that it would earn him a scholarship.

In his senior year, Mack had 140 tackles, including eight for a loss, and nine sacks. He was named third-team All-State in Florida, as well as first-team All-Area, and helped lead the Panthers to a district championship. Being a newcomer to the sport, he was rated as only a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. He received a scholarship from the State University of New York at Buffalo to play Division I football.

College career

2010 season

See also: 2010 Buffalo Bulls football team

After redshirting as a freshman in 2009, he broke into the starting lineup and was one of the most productive defenders in the MAC. He totaled 68 tackles, including 14 and a half for loss, four and a half sacks, ten pass breakups, eight quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. He earned third team all-conference honors.

He chose to wear the uniform number 46, an unconventional number for a linebacker, as a motivational reminder that his true potential was not being recognized - 46 was the overall rating assigned to him (out of a maximum of 99) in EA Sports' college football video game, NCAA Football 11.

2011 season

See also: 2011 Buffalo Bulls football team

Mack continued where he left off in 2010, with a dominant sophomore season. Mack led the team in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles, on the way to being named first-team All-MAC. He recorded 64 total tackles, including 20 and a half for loss (third best in the nation), five and half sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, thirteen quarterback hurries and five forced fumbles.

2012 season

See also: 2012 Buffalo Bulls football team

Despite being suspended for the first game of the season following an altercation with teammate wide receiver Fred Lee, Mack set career highs in tackles (94), tackles for loss (21 - fourth in the nation), and sacks (8). He also recorded two pass breakups, four quarterback hurries and four forced fumbles. He earned first team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season.

2013 season

See also: 2013 Buffalo Bulls football team

Starting all 13 games, Mack recorded 100 tackles including 19 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, three interceptions, one which he returned for a touchdown, and forced five fumbles. He won the CFPA Linebacker Trophy for the 2013 season, and he was named the 2013 MAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press. Mack finished tied for first for the NCAA in career tackles for loss with 75 and set a new record for forced fumbles with 16. Buffalo's independent student newspaper, The Spectrum, also ranked Mack as the best UB football player in the Division I history of the program.

College statistics

Year	Games	Tackles				Sacks	Pass Defense				Fumbles		Blkd
		Solo	Ast	Total	TFL - Yds	No - Yds	Int - Yds	BU	PD	Qbh	Rcv - Yds	FF	Kick	Saf
2010	12	40	28	68	14.5 - 86	4.5 - 40	0 - 0	10	0	8	1 - 0	2	0	0
2011	12	38	27	65	20.5 - 74	5.5 - 35	1 - 23	2	0	13	0 - 0	5	1	0
2012	11	52	42	94	21.0 - 98	8.0 - 63	0 - 0	2	2	4	0 - 0	4	1	0
2013	13	56	44	100	19.0 - 98	10.5 - 79	3 - 125	7	10	6	3 - 0	5	0	0
Career	48	186	141	327	75 - 268	28.5 - 217	4 - 148	21	12	31	4 - 0	16	2	0

Records

Buffalo career records

• Most tackles for loss (75)
• Most sacks (28.5)
• Most forced fumbles (16)

NCAA records

• Tied for first in tackles for loss (75)
• Most forced fumbles (16)

Professional career

2014 NFL draft

Leading up to the draft, Mack was projected as a high first round pick in the 2014 NFL draft in many mock drafts. He was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Oakland Raiders, making him the highest selected Buffalo player ever. Previously, the highest selected player was Gerry Philbin in 1964. He chose to switch from his college uniform number, 46, to 52 in order to comply with the NFL's numbering rules.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 2⅝ in	251 lb	33¼ in	10¼ in	4.65 s	1.53 s	2.57 s	4.18 s	7.08 s	40 in	10 ft 8 in	23 reps

2014 season

By the end of the season, Mack was considered a candidate for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Mack eventually finished in third place in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting behind defensive tackle Aaron Donald of the St. Louis Rams and linebacker C. J. Mosley of the Baltimore Ravens. He was, however, named the Defensive Rookie of the Year by analysts on ESPN's NFL Live and was one of three linebackers selected to USA Football's sixth annual All-Fundamentals Team (the others being All-Pro veterans Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers and Tamba Hali of the Kansas City Chiefs).

2015 season

In March 2015, the NFL amended the league's uniform numbering rules to allow linebackers to wear the numbers 40-49. As a result, Mack considered reverting from the number 52 to 46, the number he wore during his college career, but ultimately did not do so. In August 2015, Mack was named as the NFL's number one "making the leap" player. Before the start of the season, Mack shifted from linebacker to right defensive end, and plays at both positions.

On December 13, Mack finished a game against the Denver Broncos with five sacks, tying a Raiders franchise record for sacks in a game, previously set by Howie Long in 1983. Mack's 5 sacks of Broncos QB Brock Osweiler is largely credited for the deterioration of Osweiler's confidence in 2015, which led to the benching of Osweiler for QB Peyton Manning. Also, the game, which the Raiders won 15-12, was the franchise's first over the Broncos since September 2011. In the following week Mack was selected to his first Pro Bowl along with teammates Charles Woodson, and Marcel Reece.

After the conclusion of the season, Mack became the first player in NFL history to make the AP All-Pro First Team at two different positions in the same year.

Career statistics

NFL Career Statistics
Oakland Raiders
Season			Tackling				Fumbles				Interceptions
Year	GP	GS	Comb	Solo	Asst	Sack	FF	FR	Yds	Lng	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	PD
2014	16	16	76	59	17	4.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	3
2015	16	16	77	57	20	15.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	2
Career	32	32	153	116	37	19.0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	5

Personal life

Mack taught himself to play guitar as a freshman at the University at Buffalo and enjoys singing and writing music. His reputation as a singer has led Raiders teammates to attempt to goad him into singing R. Kelly and Usher songs. He is a fan of musicians Tim McGraw and John Mayer.

Mack is an active Christian and spent much of his youth attending a church where his father was a deacon. Mack also enjoys spending time with his nieces, Maayana and Ma’kiyah, and counts his favorite film as Mary Poppins.

Mack's cousin, Luther Robinson, is a defensive end in the NFL.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]