Ken Mack Last College: North Carolina Position: Running Backs Years at UNC: 3

• The sports teams I followed as a kid were: Oakland Raiders, Oakland
A’s
• My favorite football player to watch as a kid was: Walter Payton
• The athlete I would pay to see perform today is: Michael Jordan
• My greatest athletic moment was: beating Florida State in 1995 when
I was an assistant coach at Virginia
• The best thing about coaching college football is: being a positive
influence on young men
• If I could change anything about college football, I would:
establish a playoff system to determine a national champion
• The biggest influences on me as a person have been: my mother and
father
• My hobbies are: cooking, working out, fishing
• If I could be a world class athlete in another sport, it would be:
basketball – it’s my passion!
• My favorite way to unwind after a game is: relax in a hot tub

A three-year letterwinner at Carolina from 1976-78, Ken Mack returned to Chapel Hill for the 1996 season after spending 14 seasons at the University of Virginia. Now entering his fourth year on the Tar Heel coaching staff, Mack is responsible for the running backs, a position he played at UNC.

In 1996, his first year in Chapel Hill, Mack coached second-team All-ACC tailback and first-team All-ACC specialist Leon Johnson, who had 913 yards rushing, 39 receptions and 12 touchdowns.

In 1997, Mack took a backfield with no returning starters and developed it into one of the most productive and consistent units on the field. Jonathan Linton, who entered the year with just 569 career rushing yards, became a standout who earned second-team All-ACC honors and was selected in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. Linton became the latest Tar Heel to rush for 1,000 yards after topping the 100-yard mark four times. He became the first player in UNC history rush for 100 yards and catch passes for 100 yards in the same game.

Mack played running back for coach Bill Dooley in 1976-77 and for Dick Crum in 1978. He was a member of Carolina teams which played in the 1976 Peach Bowl and 1977 Liberty Bowl.

The Wayne County, N.C., native coached offensive backs at Howard University in 1980 and defensive ends at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981. The following year he joined George Welsh’s staff at Virginia where he coached running backs for 14 years.

Mack has coached some of the most outstanding running backs in ACC history. Johnson is the league’s alltime all-purpose yardage leader and is eighth in career rushing. At Virginia, where he was a member of eight bowl game staffs, Mack coached Barry Word, who set the school’s single-season rushing record in 1985; Terry Kirby, who established UVa’s career rushing record; and Tiki Barber, who led the ACC in all-purpose yardage in 1995, Mack’s final year in Charlottesville.

Recruiting Areas: Central and Northern Virginia (Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Alexandria, Arlington, Staunton, Winchester, Hargrave), Central Florida, West Virginia.