Northwest Whitfield’s Isaiah Mack warms up before a game in this 2012 photo.TUNNEL HILL, Ga. – There is a widely circulated story that high school football players in rural Florida hone their athletic skills by chasing wild rabbits. They’ve got nothing on Isaiah Mack.
The Northwest Whitfield senior defensive lineman spent part of his summer chasing — and sometimes catching — kangaroos. Mack just returned from Brisbane, Australia, where he was participating in the Down Under Sports camp, a gathering of prep players from around the globe for a week of training, competition and challenging big marsupials.
“We got to catch kangaroos one day,” said the 6-foot-2, 260-pound Mack, who was invited to the weeklong camp after being recommended by scouts. “Kangaroos there are like squirrels are here: They’re everywhere. We ambushed one and finally caught it.
“Those things are fast, man. One of them stood up and it was like 6-2. We had been told its tail can hold its body weight. I wasn’t afraid of it kicking me, but I didn’t want that tail to get me.”
Fun aside, the reigning Region 7-AAAA defensive player of the year did his usual damage on the field down under. He was named defensive MVP on his team, which finished 3-1 and lost in the championship game to a team from Texas on a last-second Hail Mary pass.