In every sphere of life, there are record makers and breakers and in the field of football, Khalil Mack has been fortunate to be among this set of people. His professional journey began in 2014 after he was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the year’s National Football League (NFL) Draft.
Khalil proved himself to be a prodigy right from the time he was at Fort Pierce Westwood High School from where he subsequently moved to the State University of New York at Buffalo and played for the Buffalo Bulls.
Within the short period of his career, the outstanding athlete has made a number of achievements for which he will be remembered even after he has long left the scene.
Who is Khalil Mack and How Old is He?
Khalil Delshon Mack aka Khalil Mack was born on the 22nd of February 1991 and raised by his parents in Fort Pierce, a beautiful city on the east coast of Florida. His parents, Yolanda and Sandy Mack Sr. were high school sweethearts before they eventually got married and started a family. The footballer comes from a family of educated people with his mother working as a teacher. Khalil’s father, on the other hand, is a program specialist. Apart from Khalil, the couple has two other sons named Sandy, Jr., and LeDarius.
Even though his father was not a sportsman, he probably noticed Kahlil’s talent when he was a child and helped direct his steps towards becoming an athlete by introducing him to sports when he was only five years old.
Growing up, Mack acquired high school education at Fort Pierce Westwood High School in Fort Pierce. There, he was nicknamed “Bombshell Man”, playing as a quarterback but he had one challenge which was throwing the ball short. As a result, he became a linebacker.
For the remaining part of his high school career, Khalil Mack played basketball hoping to get a college scholarship through the sport but before his sophomore season he sustained a tear in his patella tendon and his hopes were dashed. However, another door of opportunity was opened when after dealing with the injury, his high school football coach, Waides Ashmon, recruited him to the sport, assuring the young lad and his parents that it would earn him a scholarship.
Although he was a newcomer to the sport, Mack had 140 tackles, including eight for a loss, and nine sacks in his senior year. He earned third-team All-State in Florida and first-team All-Area. He also helped lead the Panthers to a district championship. At the end of his high school career, Rivals.com rated him as a mere two-star recruit.
Through hard work and sheer determination, the “Bombshell Man” was able to prove his worth in his high school football team and consequently, attracted a scholarship from the State University of New York at Buffalo where he was to play Division I football.
Khalil Mack did not play in his freshman year having been redshirted but by the 2010 season, he made his way to the starting lineup and was among the most productive defenders in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). He recorded a total of 68 tackles, four and a half sacks, ten pass breakups, eight quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles. He also bagged third-team all-conference honours.
The following 2011 season had him playing with increased vigour on the way to becoming first-team All-MAC. He had 64 total tackles (including 20 and 1/2 for loss), 5 1/2 sacks, one interception with 2 pass breakups, 13 quarterback hurries and 5 forced fumbles. In 2012, he earned the first-team all-conference honours for the second time having recorded a career-high 94 tackles, tackles for loss (21 – fourth in the nation), 8 sacks,2 pass breakups, 4 quarterback hurries, and 4 forced fumbles.
In 2013 Khalil Mack won a number of awards, including the CFPA Linebacker Trophy for the season. He also became the first Bull to win the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in Buffalo’s history within the MAC and was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press. The outside linebacker played 13 games in the season and made 100 tackles including 19 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, three interceptions, and forced five fumbles.
At the end of his college career, Khalil was ranked as the team’s best football player in the history of the Division I program.
What You Should Know About His NFL Career
With such an excellent record built during his college days, it is not surprising that Khalil Mack was the 5th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He was selected in the first round by the Oakland Raiders. With this, he became the highest Buffalo player to be ever selected and the first (and only so far) picked in the first round.
During his rookie season, the shining star played in all 16 games, recording 76 total tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble. He finished the season as third AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year (according to analysts on ESPN’s NFL Live), and was one of three linebackers selected to USA Football’s sixth annual All-Fundamentals Team.
The 2015 season was even more productive for the footballer as he was named NFL’s number one “making the leap” player. Before the season began, he moved from linebacker to right defensive end and played at the two positions. On December 13, Mack tied a Raiders franchise record with his five sacks, which was first set in 1993 by defensive end Howie Long. A week after, it was announced that Kahlil Mack would be going to the Pro Bowl alongside two of his teammates. With no other person breaking the record in the season, Mack became the first player in the history of NFL to make the AP All-Pro First Team at two positions in the same year. His fellow players in the league also ranked him 13th in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016
In the 2016 season, Mack recorded 11.5 sacks and also set a new career-high in forced fumbles with 5 and fumbles recovered with 3. He was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the season, and for the second time in a row, he was named to the Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro. Other players also rated him 5th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 as the highest-ranked defensive lineman.
See Also: Jason Peters Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Family, His NFL Career
The Raiders picked up the fifth-year option on Mack’s contract in the 2017 season and he was also named to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive time.
On September 1, 2018, the Raiders traded Mack to the Chicago Bears and not too long after that, he signed a six-year contract worth $141 million with $90 million guaranteed. This made him the highest-paid defender in the history of NFL.
Does The Basketballer Have a Girlfriend?
Recent reports have it that the Chicago Bears outside linebacker is in a relationship with Angela Simmons, daughter of the former Run-DMC rapper Rev Run (Joseph Simmons). The speculations began after the two were reportedly spotted getting close at a shopping a mall when the young woman visited Chicago.
Neither of them has, however, refuted or confirmed the claims.
Other Interesting Quick Facts
Name: Khalil Delshon Mack
Born: February 22, 1991
Place of Birth: Fort Pierce, Florida, United States
NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 252 lb (114 kg)
