Top 30 Most Overlooked High School Recruits to Go Pro Since 2000
By Zach Bigalke
Khalil Mack thought he would be going to college on a basketball scholarship. Then a patella tendon tear in his sophomore year forced him to rethink his plans. He took up football at Westwood High School in Fort Pierce, Florida, racking up 140 tackles and nine sacks as the Panthers won a district championship. Despite being named third team All-State as a senior, though, his lack of playing experience led to being lumped in with other two-star recruits by both Rivals and Scout.
The one offer he received was from Turner Gill at SUNY Buffalo. Mack eagerly jumped at the opportunity to play top-level college football, and with the Bulls he evolved into a defensive dynamo. After redshirting in 2009, he quickly became one of the defensive leaders of the team as soon as he took the field in 2010. By his senior year, Mack would pile up 100 total tackles, record 9.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss, force five fumbles and recover three, and even snag three interceptions. His 16 career forced fumbles set a new NCAA record. No longer among the faceless recruits, his four dominant years of college earned Mack the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.