Jan 10, 2008

Center will play senior season for Cal

Mack says one more year should be fun

By Jonathan Okanes / MediaNews

Cal center Alex Mack figured the best-case scenario is that he could go late in the first round of the NFL draft. He decided the best way to reach that best-case scenario is to return to Berkeley for his senior season.

Mack, a two-time All-Pac-10 first-team selection and finalist for the Rimington Award given to the nation's top center, said Tuesday he is coming back to Cal because he still wants to be a college student and there is more left to do, both personally and as a team.

"The NFL will always be there,'' Mack said. "I only have one more year to play college football. I got a lot of information that sounded really good. But I know I can improve my stock. One more year can make a big difference where I go, and another year of college football will be a fun experience for me.''

Mack entered his name to be reviewed by NFL personnel evaluators and said he received a lot of positive feedback. That caused him to "flip-flop back and forth a little bit.'' Mack said he thought long and hard about both options but decided he'd be happier returning to the Bears.

Centers typically aren't high draft picks - the second round usually is the ceiling - and Mack said he was aware of that. Mack said based on the feedback he was getting, one more year of college would give him a better chance of reaching that ceiling.

"Staying another year makes it more secure,'' he said. "Playing my senior year gives me the best chance possible to go early in the second round or late in the first round.''

There has been some speculation that Mack could move to left tackle next season to replace the departed Mike Gibson, with highly regarded prospect Chris Guarnero taking over at center. Moving to tackle could improve Mack's draft stock even more. But Mack said as of now, he's staying at center.

"I'm not too sure moving positions is going to happen,'' he said. "I've always played around in practice at tackle, just in case. But Coach told me he's going to keep me at center. I'm just happy to help the team.''