That was the verdict of Brandon Lee, who coached him on an Under-9 team in Greenville, South Carolina.
"He saw the game, you know, better than some 18- and 19-year-olds, to be honest," Lee told the Greenville Journal, adding that Albert was the best player he ever coached. Matt Rogers, the Carolina Elite Soccer Academy program director who coached him a year earlier, agreed.
"Even then, he was a spectacular player," Rogers said. "He had just amazing, natural technical ability on the ball."
Years later, the verdict has come from the other end of the pathway.
"No restrictions," Kovač said this month when asked about the limits of the 17-year-old's prospects.
"He is a very talented young man who is already showing really good signs in training," the Dortmund manager added, predicting that Albert would be given more minutes soon.
Dortmund sporting director Nils-Ole Book told Sky Germany the same.
"We really do see great potential in Mathis," Book said. "He has something very special, he's a player who goes into one-on-ones gladly and with courage. We're delighted he's in our ranks. We have a clear plan for him."
Book also asked for patience, "At 17 you're simply not at your peak yet. His time, his chances and his minutes will definitely come. But you shouldn't be impatient too soon."
Kovač has been consistent about that. Last autumn, with Albert still in the Under-19s, he said: "It all has to go step by step. You mustn't force anything now."
He added: "If he keeps going like this, his future will certainly be rosy."
After the Bundesliga debut in April he said of Albert and fellow debutant Samuele Inácio: "They came here with talent, now they also need 'work talent'."
After a 1-0 pre-season win over FC Tokyo in August, he was more specific.
"You can see what abilities he has. He's fast, strong in the air, and I have to say he put in a lot of effort."
Then came the first start, in the 5-0 DFB-Pokal win over HEBC Hamburg in September, where Albert played all 90 minutes.
"Mathis and Samu made things happen up front," Kovač said. "Mathis also kept looking for the one-on-one. That was already a bit of an application today." Kovač has also said of him: "He did exactly what we wanted from him. He is a one-on-one player. If he keeps going like this, he will get lots of minutes this season."
The debut itself came on April 26, when Albert replaced Maximilian Beier in the 88th minute of a 4-0 win over Freiburg. At 16 years, 11 months and five days, he became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga, ahead of Giovanni Reyna's 17 years, 2 months and five days, and had six touches.
"I was honestly just star struck in front of the 80,000, in front of the Yellow Wall," Albert said. "It just felt like history. I was nervous, but my nerves kind of went away as soon as I entered the pitch."
Felix Hirschnagl, who took over the Dortmund Under-19s last year, watched him earn it.
"It's impressive how he took on the situation at the Under-19s straight after the Club World Cup," he told Ruhr Nachrichten. "With the ball, Mathis always finds a solution. He covers a lot of ground and shows that he wants to lead the way. What impresses me about him is his industry and his off-the-ball movement."
Dortmund's players had noticed before that. Defender Waldemar Anton, speaking at the 2025 Club World Cup when Albert was an unused substitute at 16, said: "In training, I see he has a lot of potential, but he has to keep going. He needs to have a clear mindset and continue to train hard, because I think he could become a really good player."
Managing director Lars Ricken put the club's thinking plainly last autumn.
"He is an exceptional talent," Ricken said. "We want to bring him up to the professional ranks as quickly as possible."
On the pitch, Albert is a left winger who thrives in space: quick, direct, and happiest cutting inside onto his right foot to run at defenders. The Karim Adeyemi comparison is an obvious one, though Hirschnagl's praise for his movement off the ball suggests there is more to his game than raw pace.
The people who coached him before Germany describe the same player. Sam Al-Basith, of the LA Galaxy academy staff, remembered a youngster who "was unpredictable. He played with freedom. He was creative."
Al-Basith added: "The balance of talent and competency plus humility? That's him."
Gonzalo Segares, who coached him with the United States Under-17s, saw something else: "It was exciting for me to see because he was fearless, he was brave, he was relentless."
His agent, Jeevi Rai, said the same of the first time he saw him, "I saw right away that this kid was fearless."
That mentality was tested when Albert moved to Dortmund in 2024, after his father took a job in Germany and a French and German passport made the transfer possible: "I started performing right away, but it felt so hard," he has said.
His idol is Kylian Mbappé.
"Ever since he was playing in Monaco and then moved to PSG, I've wanted to play like him," Albert said. "When I met him at the Club World Cup a year ago and spoke to him, he was really nice."
His philosophy is simple.
"My goal in every training and every game is to just go," Albert said in an interview last year. "I don't think too much. I just do whatever and, if I mess up, I just do it again."
It has already carried him to the senior United States team. Albert made his debut as a substitute in the 4-1 win over Peru on September 26, and Mauricio Pochettino noticed the attitude.
"I want to get out there, I want to play, I want to show myself," the United States head coach said of him. "That's what we need and that's why I'm happy."
Three days later, Albert scored in stoppage time of a 4-2 win over Chile, a close-range effort that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced over the line. At 17 years and 131 days he became the youngest scorer in USMNT history, ahead of Christian Pulisic, though the record lasted only four days before Cavan Sullivan broke it against Mexico.
Albert credits the coach.
"I had a good conversation with Poch. He spoke for like an hour," he said. "He really trusts me. He's one of the best coaches I have ever had."
Pochettino's pre-match message, Albert revealed, was simple: "Go create chances. You have all the freedom."
The club knows what it holds. Manchester City are reportedly willing to pay up to €20 million, according to Sport Bild, although no formal offer has been made, and Borussia Dortmund turned down every approach last summer. Albert turns 18 in May, which, according to reports, would clear the way for a move.
His own ambition is unchanged.
"I want to make the first team and be a difference-maker," he said last year. Kovač and Book have both promised the minutes, and the clubs circling will be watching to see whether they arrive.