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WR Austin Mack (2023 Grey Cup Champion, Atlanta Falcons)

Going to need our WR’s to go up and make catches like that the next couple games. Great job by Mack

You're right. Mack isn't the only receiver who's really improved.......Victor, Hill, Dixon, McLauren (sp) et al. have really improved and made great strides in their game. Maybe it's time to give Zach Smith his due? Just sayin'. :urban2:
 
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AUSTIN MACK ENJOYING CATCHING PASSES FROM DWAYNE HASKINS, HIS ROOMMATE AND BEST FRIEND

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Ohio State’s offense had a different look and feel on Saturday.

With Dwayne Haskins now starting at quarterback instead of J.T. Barrett, Ohio State threw the ball downfield more – with Haskins completing 22 of 30 passing attempts for 313 yards and five touchdowns – and ran the quarterback less, as Haskins kept the ball to run himself just twice, in the Buckeyes' 77-31 season-opening win over Oregon State.

One of the top beneficiaries of that was starting ‘X’ receiver Austin Mack, who caught five passes for 69 yards – both more than he caught in all but one game in 2017 (six catches for 90 yards) – and he acknowledged that he said Tuesday that he’s enjoying what Haskins is bringing to the passing game.

“It’s a lot more fun,” Mack said. “We have a lot of weapons in the receiving room, and the fact that Dwayne has a tremendous arm and is able to hit us in our breaks, when we need the ball and able to lead us when we need to and just run our offense clean, it’s super fun.”



Mack’s enjoyment in playing with Haskins doesn’t just stem from Haskins’ arm talent, but also from the fact that they are roommates that have been friends since even before the two Buckeyes – both currently in their third year of college – arrived at Ohio State.

“Me and Dwayne been buddies for awhile now,” Mack said. “We actually met in recruiting. So he’s a best friend of mine. That’s my guy.”

When they are at their apartment instead of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Mack said he and Haskins typically don’t talk about football, instead trying to keep things relaxed – whether that means playing a game of NBA 2K, playing poker or listening to their favorite rapper, J. Cole.

“We try and keep football at the Woody,” Mack said. “If we ever need to talk about anything, we will, but it’s really casual. We just try and keep it a friendly thing.”

In a video for the YouTube channel "Chimin' In Media" this summer, Mack and Haskins gave a tour of the apartment they live in together:



Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...m-dwayne-haskins-his-roommate-and-best-friend

 
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TCU GAME NOTEBOOK: NICK BOSA SUFFERS INJURY, AUSTIN MACK BATTLES DROPS, DWAYNE HASKINS RUNS FOR A TOUCHDOWN AND RYAN DAY COMPLETES HEAD COACHING TENURE


A CASE OF THE DROPS

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Austin Mack has demonstrated an ability dating back to last season to make tough downfield catches for Ohio State, but the story of his game on Saturday night were the catches he wasn’t able to make.

While Mack caught four passes for 84 yards from Dwayne Haskins on Saturday night, he also dropped four passes in Saturday’s game.

He made his biggest catch of the night on Ohio State’s opening possession, beating two TCU defensive backs deep and laying out for a 48-yard reception that set the Buckeyes up at the 2-yard line. Just three plays later, however, Mack dropped what should have been a touchdown catch at the back of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal, forcing the Buckeyes to settle for a field goal.

By the early third quarter, Mack had dropped three more passes, while he also flagged for a holding penalty in the second quarter. Yet Haskins continued to look his way, and after failing to catch any of the passes thrown his way since catching two on the first drive of the game, Mack was able to catch two more passes by the end of the third quarter.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Haskins continued to have faith in Mack despite his struggles on Saturday night, considering that the two are best friends and roommates. So while many Ohio State fans were wondering why the Buckeyes kept Mack in the lineup as his mistakes piled up, Haskins said he told Mack to keep his head up and expressed confidence that he would overcome his struggles.

“We are really close, so I was just saying, ‘Look, play. If you mess up, I'm going to keep coming to you, throwing you the ball,’” Haskins said. “It was hard for him having those drops like that in key moments in the game, but he kept pushing. And I relied on him again on the big moments, and he came through for me.”

Saturday night’s game could certainly be described as uncharacteristic for Mack, and Day said that’s why the Buckeyes never benched him despite his struggles.

“Austin is usually a reliable guy,” Day said. “And the big thing we talked about going into the game was that this was going to be a fight. And when you go into a fight, sometimes you get hit. And when you get hit, you can't flinch. So we didn't flinch. We kept putting Austin back in there.

“And then he dropped one, and then he came back, and he made a catch. Then he made another catch. So, we believe in our guys. We know what we see every day in practice. We trust that some days guys are going to maybe put one on the ground. We don't like that, but we believe in our guys. And when things don't go well, we've got to stick together.”

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...rops-dwayne-haskins-finally-runs-and-ryan-day
 
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Football: Ohio State still believes in Austin Mack

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Going into the 2018 season, junior wide receiver Austin Mack was pegged by many as the next “go-to guy” in the Ohio State offense.

With the amount of short-yardage receivers that serviced the type of offense former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett ran, including redshirt senior receiver Parris Campbell and redshirt junior K.J. Hill, Mack, with his vertical ability, seemed to compliment the new player behind center, redshirt sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

Through the first two games of the season, Haskins and Mack met that expectation. He was targeted nine times, bringing in eight catches for 89 yards against Oregon State and Rutgers, respectively.

That same expectation seemed like it was going to continue during the first drive of Saturday night’s game against TCU. Mack brought in two targets for 64 yards, adding a 48-yard reception to bring Ohio State into the red zone for the first time against the Horned Frogs.

Then, something happened.

Haskins looked back to what had been his most reliable receiver up to that point in the end zone, a 3-yard slant route across the middle of the field. With an open opportunity, Haskins fired, throwing the ball to a receiver who was known for his hands.

The ball hit Mack in his gloves and bounced into the turf.

Possibly viewed a a fluke for a receiver known as having one of the surest hands in the receiver room, Haskins targeted Mack again on a 2nd-and-16 in the first drive of the second quarter. Another target, another drop.

This happened two more times. Mack, who had brought in eight of nine targets in his first two games, recorded four drops in nine targets against TCU.

As an older player in the wide receiver room and one of the team captains for the Ohio State offense, Campbell took it upon himself to be there for Mack, to make sure he was still there mentally despite his lack of success.

“All of the guys, we were just telling him that at the end of the day, you just have to let it go,” Campbell said. “We need every single person on the team. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter fight and at the end of the day, we needed to clear his head and I think he moved on from that.”

But Haskins knows who Mack is as a receiver. With a close relationship off the field as his roommate, the redshirt sophomore quarterback said he was going to continue to target Mack, continue to trust his receiver even through the trouble.

“There are going to be plays you mess up. I’m going to keep coming to you though, throwing you the ball,” Haskins said. “It was hard for him having those drops like that in key moments for that game, but he kept pushing. I relied on him in the big moments and he came through for me.”

Entire article: https://www.thelantern.com/2018/09/football-ohio-state-still-believes-in-austin-mack/
 
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Keep your head up kid, and light Tulane up to get some of that confidence back. Big games like this can get in a player's head, hopefully he can work the dropsies, and get back on track, because he's always been one of the most sure handed WRs on our roster, IMO.
Just have Eddie talk to him about fumbling 3 times as a freshman against Illinois. This will be a forgettable blip on a great career.
 
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How Austin Mack Bounced Back From His Case Of The Drops

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Three plays into Ohio State’s prime time showdown with TCU, Austin Mack seemed to be on his way to a career night.

Three plays after that, he was on his way to one of the roughest halves of football in recent memory for an Ohio State wide receiver.

Mack’s night started when he picked up 16 yards on a reception on the second play of the game. On the next snap, he made a lunging grab to reel in a 48-yard bomb from Dwayne Haskins. That set up the Buckeyes with 1st-and-goal at the TCU 2.

On 3rd-and-goal, Mack got open in the back of the end zone, but dropped Haskins’ pass. The Buckeyes had to settle for a field goal.

In the second quarter, Mack dropped a 2nd-and-16 pass that would have left the Buckeyes with a manageable third down.

Just before the half, with the Buckeyes down 14-13 but driving, Mack dropped another ball that hit him right in the hands.

He wasn’t being touched by a defender on any of those plays. He just didn’t catch the ball.

Buckeye fans online were openly asking how the team could possibly continue to play him.

It was a difficult moment for the junior wideout, who is generally known for having some of the best hands in his unit, even in heavy traffic.

Had the first drop shaken Mack’s confidence? Senior wide receiver Parris Campbell said the key was to forget what had happened and focus on his next chance to make a play.

“We just told him he needed to clear his head. And I think he moved on that and actually had a big time catch later on,” Campbell said.

Mack recently told reporters that he tried to catch 10,000 passes during the offseason, even going so far as tracking the numbers on a board at the Buckeyes’ practice facility.

That hard work may have helped Mack’s teammates from losing faith in him.

“I was just saying, ‘Look. Play. If you mess up, I’m going to keep coming to you, throwing you the ball,'” said Haskins after the game. “It was hard for him having those drops like that in key moments in the game, but he kept pushing.”

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2018/09/austin-mack-drops-tcu-ohio-state-football/
 
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