Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff: 52 Days with Khalil Mack

Thursday marks just 52 days until the start of the 2023 NFL season, meaning that today we will be continuing Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff by looking at the life and career of the best player in franchise history to don the number 52, pass-rusher extraordinaire Khalil Mack.

Khalil Mack's path to the NFL Draft

If you told a high school Mack that he would become an NFL All-Pro player at two different positions, he would've probably been confused, not by the athletic potential but by the sport. A native of Fort Pierce, Florida, Khalil Mack attended Fort Pierce Westwood Academy, where his primary sport of interest started as basketball. Mack played on the school's football, basketball, and baseball teams, but he believed that basketball was the best path to a collegiate scholarship.

This all changed when he tore his patella tendon heading into his sophomore season. Having to take a step back to recover, Mack came back from his injury and was recruited to join the school's football program. After initially starting as a quarterback, some technical struggles forced the team to move him to the defensive side of the ball, where he turned into a quality linebacker and pass rusher.

In his sole season on the defensive side of the ball, Mack accumulated 140 total tackles and put on a dominant showing that garnered attention from collegiate programs across the nation. Eventually, Mack committed to the State University of New York at Buffalo, joining the Mid-American Conference.

At Buffalo, Mack redshirted his first season, but as a true sophomore, the edge rusher burst onto the scene in a major way. After his first season in 2010, Mack set team-high marks in both sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (14.5), the latter of which was the most by a freshman in team history. Mack, who also led the team in pass breakups during the season, was named to the First-Team All-MAC at the end of the year.

After Mack's breakout season, his collegiate dominance continues. In his second and third seasons, Mack led the conference in both tackles for loss and forced fumbles and was also top five in the MAC for sacks. But Mack's best collegiate came as a senior, where he made himself a household name as a top draft product.

In 2013, Mack's final season at Buffalo, the future Bear was awarded All-Mac honors for the third straight year, won the conference Defensive Player of the Year, earned the Jack Lambert award for the nation's top linebacker, set new NCAA records for career tackles for loss (75) and forced fumbles, (16), while leading his team in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions, and forced fumbles.

Following the conclusion of Mack's storied collegiate career, the edge rusher entered into the 2014 NFL Draft, where he become one of the highest-touted prospects in his class. The Buffalo standout did not have to wait long to hear his name, however, as the Oakland Raiders selected him with the fifth overall pick, making him just the second defensive player drafted after Jadeveon Clowney went first overall.