Good player, but not quite good enough. He's just not quite athletic enough to stick at this level IMO. If he was a little bit faster and more explosive then he would've made a team.
This is probably pretty accurate, but I think Mason could endear himself to a team if he ever gets a break and gets on the field. He's a little smaller and less powerful, but he runs with same purposeful and efficient manner as Earnest Graham.I hope (and expect) Marcus Mason gets another shot, but I'm glad for him that he's even gotten this far.Stop me if Ive already told you this story, but I met Marcus Mason in the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn in El Paso at the Texas Vs The Nation game in 2007. He had a typical story for a player in that game. He started out at a big program (Illinois), had to transfer for some reason (Youngstown State because he was blocked by Pierre Thomas and Rashard Mendenhall), and was trying to prove that he belonged with the players from those big programs that got invites to Houston or Mobile earlier in the month. Texas Vs The Nation is replete with hungry players who are trying to beat the odds, it's one of the reasons that I love having a close relationship with that game. It was Wednesday, so there were already two days of practices. When the players weren't practicing, they milled about with scouts from NFL (and sometimes CFL) teams, stopping to sit and answer a few questions at tables in the hotel restaurant and often setting a time to come back to the team's room to fill out a Wonderlic and swap contact info. Some players got more attention than others. Mason had looked pretty good during the week so far. He hadn't popped, but the good balance, low center of gravity, and initial burst that we've seen in the preseason was there - workmanlike and efficient, with the surprising ability to make a tackler miss completely in open space occasionally. I was interviewing players in the lobby before the Wednesday practice, which was going to be a scrimmage between the two teams - the first game action of the week. Everyone was on edge and pumped up - the scrimmage would be a major release of tension building as players were passing through the meat market/pageant that an all-star game week is, something that will in part determine their future. These guys were at a crossroads, and some of these players already had two strikes against them. I think I had interviewed Gary Russell and Josh Swogger right before I started talking to Marcus, but the tape wasn't rolling when I was talking to Marcus, I was just shooting the breeze. It went something like:
Me: You've looked pretty good out there.Mason: Yeah, but no one has asked me to come up and fill out a Wonderlic.Me: Really? I'm surprised.Mason: Most guys have talked to four or five teams already.
Mason had that sinking look on his face. Like everything he had worked for his whole life was starting to disappear before his very eyes. I tried to reassure him that from what I could see he could hang, but you could feel the weight on his soul. Mason ended up with five carries for 23 yards in the game. I figured he would be one of those early camp cuts, not because he lacked the ability, but because of the ominous lack of attention. It reminded me of the guys you see at the practices without invites who hand out hand labeled DVDs and one sheets on the sidelines because they don't even have an agent, but they just can't let the dream die. For every one who makes it, we don't see the dozen or more who have to "face reality" at some point along the way.Needless to say, I felt good seeing him succeed this preseason, and I give Mason credit for facing down failure and conquering it by spending time in the NFL. Hopefully the best is still ahead for him.
