Selfless Aiden Mack is just as happy to knock your block off as score a touchdown

Aiden Mack may be the best football player in Berks County you haven’t heard about yet.

And he’s fine with that.

“I’m not too worried about the spotlight,” Wyomissing’s rising senior tight end says. “At the end of the day, if you need the edge blocked, I block the edge and that’s all that matters. I don’t need someone to pat me on the back. A pat on the back won’t win a state championship.”

Mack was a big part of the Spartans’ drive toward a PIAA Class 3A title a year ago. You just didn’t hear much about him because he was surrounded by so many game-changing talents – All-State picks such as Darren Brunner, Evan Niedrowski and Zach Zechman – and because, well, he’s a tight end.

Those guys barely get noticed, especially in the Spartans’ Wing-T running game.

Mack caught all of eight passes in 10 games as a junior. Most of the plays on his highlight reel are of him sealing the edge on a sweep or crashing down on a defensive end.

Nothing exciting enough to get you on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays, that’s for sure.

“I just do what I’m told,” said the 6-4, 217-pound, three-year starter. “Whatever helps the team. I’d rather win a state championship than catch 50 balls and 10 touchdowns; whatever gets us there.

“In this offense, it’s 90 (percent) block and 10 percent catching. I really like getting down on those down blocks and helping the run game, and also being able to sneak out, catch the drag, catch the flag; you always keep the defense on its toes.”

Some of his best work last season came in the District 3 championship game at Middletown. Sure, he caught a touchdown pass early in that 38-16 win; what college coaches noticed was the work he did on 6-4, 230-pound Tajae Broadie, the Blue Raiders’ outstanding defensive end.

Broadie has offers from Penn State, Minnesota, West Virginia and others; that night he played a part in Mack secuinge his first college offer.

“Our coaches told me all week I’ve got to seal him in there,” Mack said. “I think I did a pretty good job with that.”

So did the coaches at the University of Connecticut. The day after that game they extended Mack an offer.

“They said, ‘We saw what you did with Tajae, how you guys were battling. We really like Tajae, so you’re at that level, too.’ ”

“He’s a pretty impressive as a blocker,” said Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum. “Everyone I talk to talks about how well he uses his hands when he’s blocking. They also like that he likes to hit; he’s very physical.”

Steve O’Neil, Wyomissing’s offensive and defensive line coach, predicted on Twitter that Mack “will be the most physical and devastating blocking tight end in the state (this season). His down blocks on the edge (are) a thing of beauty.”

Mack’s combination of size, strength and tenaciousness caught the eye of a lot of college coaches. He received 15 more Division I offers after UConn, from the likes of Navy, Army, Fordham and Lafayette (you can figure by that list that he’s a pretty good student, too).

He decided last week end to accept an offer to play tight end at Richmond; he mentioned academics as being as big a reason.

“I realize there’s going to be a time in my life when football’s over and I need a degree that I can fall back on,” he said. “Richmond’s a great school (academically).”

“At the end of the day, if you need the edge blocked, I block the edge and that’s all that matters.”

Mack will get a chance to show off his defensive skills this season.

He was an outside linebacker last year, and good enough to start for most teams. Of course, the Spartans weren’t most teams. They were among the best in the state, and were unbeaten until running into Central Valley in the Class 3A title game.

Brunner, who was an All-State pick on defense, and Jack Feightner, an All-State offensive linemen, were the Spartans’ outside ‘backers.

Mack understood why he wasn’t on the field very much; he has no complaints.

“Our defense was phenomenal,” he said. “You don’t want to mess it up. We had Darren and Jack … our D-line was also phenomenal … so there was nowhere to get in.”

There will be this season. Mack will be a defensive end. Wolfrum is eager to plug him in there.

“He’s strong, he moves very well and we need him down there,” Wolfrum said.

“It’s going to be great,” Mack said with anticipation. “Hand down, get a little momentum, rush right in there, rush the passer. I’m excited to get in there and get dirty.”

Mack played just about every sport growing up; he continues to play basketball and lacrosse for Wyomissing.

Football has been his passion for a long time. His goal from an early age was simply to get on the field for the Spartans.

He played center from fifth through seventh grade and says it helped him learn how to block, and to develop the proper footwork for line play. He was moved to tight end in eighth grade and has started there since he was a sophomore.

Mack caught Wolfrum’s eye as a seventh-grader when he showed up each day at 6 a.m. for summer weight-lifting sessions with the varsity guys. Usually younger guys are too intimated to get in the weight room with the juniors and seniors; Mack was, too, but he yearned to be one of them.

“Some of the older guys were putting up like, 235 (pounds), and I’ve got two five’s on the bar,” he joked. “(But) it was a good experience. I just wanted to be on the high school team; I wanted to be out on that field on a Saturday.”

Mack learned a lot from working out with the older guys and soaked in the Spartans’ rich tradition. He oozes it now.

“It’s a selfless game around here,” he said. “You’ve gotta trust the system. It’s the best football coaching staff in the state. They know what they’re doing. You’ve just gotta trust coach (Frank) Ferrandino in the weight room, Coach Wolfrum, all the others on the field. What they tell you, they’re not just saying it to hear themselves talk, they’re telling you because they know what’s best.”