Miami DB commit Ryan Mack’s excited for his senior season: ‘Cristobal always says to have fun’

As Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas 2024 three-star Miami cornerback commit Ryan Mack prepares for his senior season, his future coaching staff in Coral Gables is looking for more than just the general dominance that helped him become a Hurricanes priority recruiting target.

Mack, who is rated just one point shy of being listed as a four-star recruit in the On3 Recruiting Database, was recruited to be a versatile defensive back and potentially nickelback for the Hurricanes and will play both cornerback and nickelback in his final high school season. The bulk of Mack’s experience comes as a cornerback, but the Hurricanes staff believes his background locking down receivers in man-to-man coverage and his awareness in zone coverage makes the 5-foot-11 recruit an ideal defensive back — and they want to see his versatility this fall.

“They want to see me play a lot more nickel and stuff like that, because that’s one position they want me to play when I get there,” Mack said. “They really want me to get some nickel work, and really (Miami head coach Mario) Cristobal always says to have fun.”

Miami wants to see Mack improve his off-man technique and zone coverage skills his senior season while continuing to increase his production, which Mack said he wants to do too. He wants to more than double his interceptions from two to five, record at least 25 tackles and finish with more pass deflections than he can count. He wants to find the endzone on defense, too, and show off his underrated speed his teammates claim is under 11 seconds in the 100M.

With recruitment shut down, Miami commit Ryan Mack focused on connecting with future teammates

Mack will also have a role blocking punts on special teams, but he hopes to clean up his technique as a defensive back and continue to refine his skillset. Multiple teammates and coaches attest to his improvement over the past several years, but Mack wants to hold himself to an even higher standard.

“I feel like I’ve become more technical at the DB position since I came (to St. Thomas Aquinas),” Mack said. “Before, when I was little, we were just going out there and playing and not really having any technique and just going out there and playing. I was playing safety before, but when I switched to corner they really taught me to be more technical and really know what I’m doing, really play the position and be football smart.”

Mack’s senior season begins Saturday when St. Thomas Aquinas takes on Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco on ESPN2.

CaneSport’s Take

Consistency will be the name of the game for Mack, the son of former Miami Hurricane Rod Mack, as he heads into his final year. His zone coverage skills are already far better than most 2024 defensive backs, and his awareness is second to none. But the name of the game for Ryan will be learning to flex his dominance every down.

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