From San Marcos High School to the Super Bowl: Alex Mack starts at center for Atlanta

It came with great pain but Alex Mack is the first football player from the Santa Barbara area to ever play in the Super Bowl.

Mack started at center for the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI with a fracture in his left fibula. He suffered the injury two weeks ago in the NFC Championship Game.

Atlanta could not hold a second half 28-3 lead and lost the Super Bowl in overtime to New England 34-28.

Mack was a two-way standout player at San Marcos High School. He also was a two-time CIF champion wrestler.

He graduated in 2004 with a 4.2 Grade Point Average. He played at the University of California and won the Academic Heisman in 2008.

He was a first round draft choice by the Cleveland Browns in 2009 and played with the team for seven years.

He became a free agent and signed a five-year, 45 million dollar contract with Atlanta in 2016.

In his first year with the Falcons he was named to his fourth Pro Bowl team and helped the team reach the Super Bowl.