JONESBORO -- Not long after Arkansas State's first fall scrimmage last week, Blake Mack had retreated upstairs in the Red Wolves' football facility, searching for a room where he could watch film.
Mack had just finished one of his best practices of the preseason -- he caught two touchdown passes in the season's first scrimmage -- but considering the short time in which he has to perfect his new role, there's always time for more ways to get better.
"I just came in with a goal to separate myself from everybody," he said.
He's done that through the first three weeks of camp.
Mack entered last week's scrimmage first on the depth chart at tight end, and misfortune has made his grip on the position tighter. Senior Warren Leapheart, the only ASU player who has been a tight end throughout his career, ruptured an Achilles tendon during the scrimmage and was lost for the year.
And with junior Jonah Hill nursing an injury and facing a two-game suspension after his arrest for marijuana possession in June, Mack has a clear route to starting in ASU's opener Sept. 2 against Toledo.
It's a reality first thought of by coaches in the spring, when Coach Blake Anderson and tight ends coach Dan Dodd decided to move him from receiver because he kept getting bigger. Mack is up to 240 pounds from the 205 when he arrived at ASU in 2014, and coaches hope he can become an intriguing weapon while maintaining his athleticism to go with his newfound size.
Plenty have taken notice during camp, especially after he caught a pass from senior quarterback Chad Voytik over the middle for a touchdown in the scrimmage, and one later from Justice Hansen near the goal line.
"He's a rare dude," offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner said.
"He'll make plays for you," Voytik said.
"We know he can catch balls, and he likes to catch balls, and we need him to do that," Anderson said. "We need him to play really well and be hard to play one-on-one."
The task before the opener is combining that athleticism and catching ability with the necessary skills to block on the line of scrimmage. Dodd said that's the biggest challenge when a receiver moves to tight end, as it was for former ASU tight end Darion Griswold when Anderson was hired in 2014.
"It's such a foreign thing for a wide receiver to play in there," Dodd said. "They spent their whole life trying to avoid contact and not only do they have to embrace it, they've got to initiate it."
Dodd said Mack has the ability, and the coach has seen improvement since the process began in spring.
Mack said Griswold offered advice before he transitioned to the new position.
"He just said you've got to want to do it," Mack said. "The technique comes from coaching, but you have to want to do it."
Mack's secret for his new body is simple.
"I like to lift and eat," he said. "That was always my problem."
It turned into a positive when Dodd approached him about moving positions. Dodd said the decision was made for immediate and future considerations.
"It's going to be good for him, too, from a down-the-road standpoint," Dodd said. "He has the ability to play at the next level. I don't know if he would be fast enough as a wideout, but he's certainly fast enough as a tight end."
So Mack moved inside and stopped feeling pressure about gaining weight. He found his limit this summer, too, when he got up to about 250 pounds.
"I couldn't carry that," he said.
So he trimmed down to 240, and by the season he hopes to be about 245 -- the right balance to stretch the field as a receiver and to block defensive linemen inside.
"Just ready for something new," said Mack, who caught 14 passes for 235 yards through two seasons.
The ceiling could be high for Mack, who might have finally have found his role with the ASU offense.
"I think at some point in your life as a football player, the light sort of snaps on for you and you start enjoying it," Dodd said. "We're waiting for the light to turn on with Blake. He's certainly going to get there, but it's a work in progress."
Sports on 08/20/2016