Montreal Alouettes receiver Austin Mack wasn’t familiar with the CFL a few months ago.
"I pull up a highlight tape of the Alouettes, and I see guys running to the line of scrimmage, motioning sideways on the line of scrimmage, and I'm just like, 'what is going on? This is crazy,'" said Mack of Canadian football rules, reminiscing on when he first learned of Montreal’s interest in him in April.
The product of Fort Wayne, Ind., now leads the league in receiving yards through Week 6 of the season.
A late Alouettes signing ahead of training camp, the 25-year-old rookie came in with some pedigree as an Ohio State University alumni with NFL experience, but still had to prove himself to his coaches.
Mack showed promise as a quick learner in camp and consistently made big plays in practice as the season approached.
Once it started, it took him about one minute to showcase what kind of impact he could have in the CFL — bringing down a 61-yard first-career reception on the Alouettes’ second snap of the season.
"It was like, 'here we go, this guy might just do it' — and he's been doing it consistently ever since," said receivers coach Mike Lionello.
With 458 receiving yards on 30 receptions and two touchdowns in five games, Mack is filling a big need for the Alouettes at wide receiver.
Montreal (2-3-0) lost Eugene Lewis — last year’s East Division most outstanding player — to free agency this off-season, while starting receivers Greg Ellingson, Tyson Philpot and Reggie White Jr. all started the year on the six-game injured list.
On top of taking advantage of an opening, Mack is seizing a second opportunity north of the border after injuries interrupted his NFL career.
After four years with the Buckeyes, he had a promising start in the NFL, making four receptions for 72 yards in one game as a rookie with the New York Giants in 2020 — including a 50-yard catch from quarterback Daniel Jones.
However, the Giants released Mack the following off-season after he sustained a hamstring injury.
Mack, with stints on the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers practice squads, had been trying to get back in the league the last two years. But he kept getting released as he continued his battle with injuries.
"It's probably … the hardest two years of my life,” he said. "You're talking about your livelihood, something you've done your entire life which you built your career around. When you're not even able to be available, it's mental battle.”
Mack even pondered hanging up his cleats, ready to use his finance degree to start a career outside of football and focus on starting his family, which grew by one in March.
His wife, Joye, encouraged him to give football another shot. Now after years of working to understand his body, Mack feels like he’s in the best shape of his life, and playing some of the best football of his life, too.
Dre Muhammad, a wide receiver coach who trained Mack in Fort Wayne starting in the ninth grade, says Mack showed he had the mindset to power through adversity from the get-go.
He remembers one of their first training sessions. Muhammad decided to see how far he could push Mack, making him go all-out on a Woodway treadmill — a machine Muhammad calls “a soul snatcher."
Partway through 10 reps, Mack started to get very fatigued and drenched in sweat, to the point his mother watching in attendance got scared.
"He had a near-death experience on the Woodway,” said Muhammad, who still speaks with Mack almost weekly and is now the CEO of Traction Athletic Performance in Fort Wayne.
“But it showed me that his mindset and his desire was strong enough that when we go through this process, no matter what occurs, no matter what happens, he was gonna be a guy that if he just stayed the course, he would be in a really good situation and be successful."
Since that 61-yard catch against the Ottawa Redblacks, Mack has steadily become a top option for Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo, and the two have started putting in extra time working together.
Mack is also learning from 10-season veteran Ellingson, “who thrives off the nicks and tricks of the CFL,” and has already gained a deep appreciation for the Alouettes’ rich history — something he wants to add to.
"Being one of those guys up there in that Ring of Honour is somebody that has done something extraordinary,” he said. “If I can be extremely extraordinary for the Als and we can put up a Grey Cup, like that's extraordinary, that's how you get remembered.
“There's been a lot of greatness here in Montreal. We definitely want to bring that back here."
At Mack's current pace, Lionello believes he has what it takes to become one of the league's top offensive players.
"I don't want to put this on him, but he already knows the standard for him is to be that guy every year,” said Lionello. “He can be the top receiver in the league for the next five-plus years if he wants to be, and I think he knows that."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2023.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version referred to the San Francisco 49ers as the San Francisico Giants.