Pressure Off From Commitment, 2016 Wide Receiver Austin Mack Continues To Recruit More Talent to Ohio State

When you're a prominent high school football prospect, the tugging, pulling, pushing and prying from each prominent college coach is constant. Frankly, it's exhausting.

Welcome to Austin Mack's life the past calendar year. A four-star recruit and 25th-ranked wide receiver by 247Sports, Mack was coveted by everyone who was anyone in the realm of college football. He ended the hot pursuit of places like Alabama, Notre Dame and Michigan by pledging to Ohio State exactly two weeks ago.

"Right now, honestly, it's a relief to know this part of it is over," Mack told Eleven Warriors June 7, the day he committed. "Now I can finally show out for the greatest fans in America."

Well, not quite yet.

First, Mack is hot on the recruiting trail trying to reel in more top talent to join him as Buckeyes.

Damar Hamlin, Jordan Fuller, Rashan Gary and Nick Bosa are all players Mack mentioned Tuesday following Ohio State camp as players he's trying to pull to Columbus.

"(The feedback) is all positive," Mack said. "Nick Bosa’s almost a clear cut but I definitely got a few other guys that are definitely high on Ohio State."

Bosa recently rose to No. 2 in the Scout 300 rankings for the class of 2016, reportedly down to four schools with Ohio State being the clear favorite.

Mack called himself "the main recruiter" of the 2016 class the day he committed to the Buckeyes, but in addition to his role on the recruiting trail, the Fort Wayne, Ind., product is experiencing a new kind of burden.

"The recruiting pressure's completely gone, but now it's the time to meet expectations, for sure," Mack said. "I definitely have to get back to grinding and hopefully be able to meet what I'm supposed to do when I come here to college."

"Nick Bosa’s almost a clear cut but I definitely got a few other guys that are definitely high on Ohio State."– Austin Mack

That won't be for another year, but Mack is spending as much time at Ohio State as possible to formulate more relationships, a big reason he chose the Buckeyes.

"Just making those relationships, especially with Jalin Marshall or Johnnie Dixon. Being able to interact with the players and see what their feel is for the school," Mack said. "It wasn’t just based on them for why I picked Ohio State, but it definitely helped."

Mack is scheduled to visit Beavertown, Ore., next month to participate in Nike's The Opening, with a slew of top prospects from all over the country joining him.

He said he plans to continuing pushing for Bosa and others to head to Ohio State, because available scholarships are quickly getting scooped up.

"Now I gotta start letting them know that spots are starting to close up and you need hurry your things, let them know that they need to secure their spot," Mack said.

The Opening provides Mack anther chance to show why he's one of the top-rated receivers in the country, a ranking he attributes to his competitiveness and precise route running.

"I think The Opening, the main point is just to let recruiting people rank people on how they compete against other people," Mack said. "That's definitely what they'll do and I think it's definitely a great time to bring people together and bring that premier competition."

Ohio State's 2016 class is already ranked in the top-3 across recruiting websites, but Mack wants it to be even better, a reason he will use the Nike showcase to continue imploring others to Columbus.

"I'll be able to see them in person so it'll be a lot easier to recruit them in person and let them know what's up," Mack said.