College football recruiting “junkies,” to borrow a phrase from Steve Spurrier, will sing the praises of a prospect from the highest barstool until said recruit spurns State U.


Then it’s: “See ya, buddy – and don’t let the door hit you on your way out of state.”


Such seems to be the case with Calhoun County offensive lineman Eric Mack, who de-committed from USC on Tuesday and apparently will be heading to Auburn.


Mack had been a longtime USC commit, a product of the same, Class A school in St. Matthews that produced Gamecocks freshman WR Alshon Jeffery. Mack has wavered at various times – and it seems USC may have been wavering on Mack following his visit last weekend.


I wasn’t hanging around the dorms or the Floyd Building, so I don’t know how Mack might have conducted himself.


But scales don’t lie. And the 6-foot-4 Mack was said to be tipping them at about 350 pounds lately.


A couple weeks ago, while Mack was still (sort of) solidly in the Gamecocks’ camp, I talked to Scout.com regional analyst Miller Safrit for a story I was doing updating USC’s recruiting efforts.
Safrit had been in Orlando for the Under Armour All-Star Game, where he got an up-close view of Mack and Bamberg-Ehrhardt’s A.J. Cann, another USC O-line commit.


Safrit liked Cann’s technique and said his fundamentals were such that he would have a shot at playing this fall as a freshman.
Here’s what Safrit said about Mack:


“I’m really concerned about where he is now weight-wise. He’s a really, really big kid and he sort of wore down as the game progressed. … I’d like to see him lose some weight, and I’m sure South Carolina would, as well.”


Again, it’s too easy for fans to pile on a prospect, especially a local kid, when he opts to sign elsewhere. But this one appears to be mutual.


Mack won’t be helping USC. And according to the recruiting experts, he might not be helping anyone any time soon unless he improves his work ethic and drops some pounds.






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