Hello: Ben Mason
This poor kid. [Photo: Danbury News-Times]
In a ceremony where the decor took away what little suspense there may have been heading into the announcement, three-star Newtown (CT) Sandy Hook ILB/FB Ben Mason committed to Michigan. Mason picked up a scholarship offer while on an unofficial visit in April, and a subsequent offer from Wisconsin didn't sway him from the Wolverines.
Mason projects to either inside linebacker or fullback at the next level; after his Michigan visit, he told TMI's Brice Marich he was open to either:
“(My parents) loved the college town feel of Ann Arbor and impressed with the academics. They also loved the opportunity I have defensively at linebacker or offensively at fullback with Coach Wheatley. I just want to play football. I really don’t care what position.”
Mason and Chase Lasater give Michigan two ILB/FB types in the class. Of the pair, Mason seems more likely to stick on defense—it's worth noting Don Brown saw fit to offer him when Brown was at Boston College. Michigan now has 12 commits in the 2017 class, including another linebacker prospect in four-star Josh Ross.
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
3*, #32 ILB | 3* ILB | NR OLB |
3*, 85, #28 ILB, #765 Ovr |
3*, #35 ILB, #883 Ovr |
Mason is a middle-of-the-pack three-star to Scout and 247, while Rivals hasn't given him a position ranking and ESPN hasn't bothered to scout him at all. Mason plays two positions that don't generate many four-star prospects (ILB and FB) and he comes from a state that doesn't produce much in the way of football talent; he's likely to stay a three-star.
Mason's size has some suggesting he could grow into a defensive end role down the road. 247 has the most updated figures: Mason checked in a 6'2.5", 247 pounds at last weekend's Opening regional. That's big enough to step in immediately at either inside linebacker or fullback.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the commitment post.]
SCOUTING
Scout has a full evaluation posted to Mason's profile:
Evaluation
Mason brings versatility because he can play middle linebacker, or add weight and move to defensive end. He could also shed some weight and play outside linebacker. But his best spot is middle linebacker because he reads plays quickly and can accelerate to the ball carrier. He is built to be a run stopper. He needs to improve his acceleration at the start of a play, but he possesses closing speed. He moves his feet properly when dropping into pass coverage, where he is comfortable. Mason reads his keys and can get through the gaps to blitz. He is rugged and strong. -- Brian DohnStrengths
- Athleticism
- Blitzing Ability
- Closing Speed
- Run Stopping
- Size
- Strength
Areas to Improve
- Agility
- Change of Direction
- Foot Quickness
- Speed
Having "athleticism" as a strength with the weaknesses listed makes little sense; the tape backs up that Mason isn't particularly fast or quick, but he closes on runners in a hurry because of short-range acceleration and quick reads. If he sticks on defense, it's going to be as a MIKE, where his run-stopping ability can be put to good use without exposing him too much in coverage.
The other scouting report out there on Mason comes from last weekend, when 247 named him the #2 defensive performer at the Opening regional in New Jersey:
Sandy Hook (Conn.) Newton linebacker Ben Mason won MVP honors for his position group, doing well in drills, the Cat and Mouse setting and also moving well in coverage in 1-on-1s and 7-on-7s. It’s easy to call the 6-foot-2 ½, 247-pound Mason a throwback, and one wouldn’t think this would be a setting he’d shine in, but Mason did his thing and left with hardware.
That performance provides hope that Mason can hold up against the pass. Stout, run-stuffing MIKE-types don't tend to do well in camp settings.
Mason has a solid football pedigree. His father, Bob Mason, was a D-III All-American defensive end at Ithaca in the mid-80s who got a quick look in the NFL; the family has regular film sessions:
“After every game we watch film together and go over what I’ve done wrong so I can correct it for the next game,” Mason said. “He gives me a lot of feedback.”
All Patriot fans, the three have spent countless hours watching college and pro football together over the years.
“It’s literally all we ever do on weekends,” Mason said. “We’re always hanging out watching football. The best advice he’s ever given me is just play as hard as I can because that’s really all you can do.”
If Mason doesn't stay on defense, he should be a very physical, coachable guy at fullback, and he could be more than just a blocker: he had an increased role in the offense as a junior and showed potential as both a short-yardage runner and receiver out of the backfield.
OFFERS
Mason holds offers from Army, Boston College, Cal, Columbia, UConn, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Kansas, UMass, Navy, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Wisconsin, and Yale. While that list lacks high-end football powers, it's great to see so many Ivy League schools and a couple service academies; academics shouldn't be a worry here.
HIGH SCHOOL
Connecticut isn't known as a major football state, and Newtown isn't much of an exception; according to the Rivals database, Mason is the first three-star to come out of the program. Newtown fell in the semifinals of last year's state playoffs.
STATS
Mason has been a remarkably productive high school player. He had 113 tackles (66 solo) with 11 TFLs, four sacks, and four interceptions (three returned for TDs) at linebacker in 2015, adding 231 yards on 43 rushes (5.4 YPC) and 416 yards on 24 receptions (16.2 YPC) with 15 combined offensive touchdowns.
As a sophomore, Mason tallied 110 tackles (76 solo) with 6.0 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, an interception, and a fumble return for a score.
FAKE 40 TIME
Mason recorded a 4.88 electronic-timed 40-yard dash, which gets zero FAKEs. As mentioned above, he doesn't have great straight-line speed.
VIDEO
Junior highlights:
Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Mason is the type of player who Harbaugh will happily deploy on both sides of the ball by the time he's done at Michigan. He could be a day-one starter at fullback, as Khalid Hill, Henry Poggi, and Bobby Henderson all are set to depart after this season. In that case, Mason, Chase Lasater, and a walk-on or two—most likely current junior Nate Volk—will compete for snaps.
Down the road, Mason can also compete at inside linebacker, where there's also set to be a lot of competition for open starting spots in the next couple seasons. His first opportunity to crack the two-deep should come after Mike McCray graduates following the 2018 season.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan is definitely set at fullback, and with three players capable of playing inside linebacker in the class (Mason, Lasater, and Ross), that position group may be settled as well. M is up to 12 commits in a class that the coaching staff apparently expects to reach the mid-to-high 20s. Top priorities going forward include outside receiver, tight end, and linemen on both sides of the ball.
Here's the 2017 class as it currently stands:
I'll just point out that FBs are all low rated. Harbaugh's insistence on using them is going to lower our recruiting ratings. Pretty stupid of him, isn't it? This kid is just the type of player that Wisconsin does really well with. They offered him too.
Mason and Lasater are the type of players Harbaugh used to grind teams like USC and Oregon into dust. The man has a plan and knows what he's doing.
Harbaugh was 4-4 at Stanford against Oregon and USC.
He was 1-3 vs. Oregon.
I'm not too interested in that kind of "grinding to dust"
SEARCH: 5* FB
RESULT: 404 Not Found
between light ochre and harvest ochre on the meter.
looks like the wrong guy is recruiting and coaching at michigan....when can you start?.
Meteor city sounds dangerous i don't wanna go there
+1 for same thought. See above.
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FB types aren't exactly 4/5 star rated kids, ever.. He fits the bill of a Harbaugh player, which is what Harbaugh cares about, not how they're rated, he has his own rating system. If what he did at Stanford is any indication of how he evaluates and develops players then it shouldn't matter.
Owen Marecic was a 2-star, TWO freaking stars.. and he turned out OK for Harbaugh in the end, http://louisvillesports.org/paul-hornung/2010-2/.. Mason may not be that good, but he fits that mold and I trust Harbaugh. So while it's nice to get the coveted 5-star guys like Rashan Gary or a DPJ, fullbacks and Mike linebackers don't need to be highly rated to wow me..
The BC offer suggests that he's been on Don Brown's radar for a while. I suspect that between that and Harbaugh's eye for talent, we should be good with him on the team either as a FB or otherwise.
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does this go against the unwritten rules?
(even though its a totally logical and fair question to pose)
Hello posts are not the place to criticize kids who want to come to Michigan. Michigan had a choice on whether to take the commit at this point. This kid, his family or friends may be coming to this blog excited to see the reaction and what would they find but some internet hero telling him he's not worth it.
Brian doesn't allow talk of transfers on this blog out of fairness to the players. There should be a rule about criticizing specific recruits also or at least not in their hello thread.
There is also the fact that Harbaugh has more football knowledge in his pinky finger than you could ever hope to have. Maybe you should think about that.
I know I wouldnt have wanted to read negative crap about my kids when they commited to their school, lighten up Frances.
Welcome to the team !!
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Whoa, Sandy Hook
Newtown is a beautiful town that has a lot to it besides that tragedy.
Happy to see a Nighthawk become a Wolverine.
Ridgefield is better (Go Tigers)
At his age, would he have been at Sandy Hook Elementary for the shooting tragedy of 2012? Probably a shade too old, but if not, he would have known a number of victims or victims' relatives if he lived there at the time. [EDIT - Looks like SHES is K-4, so he's too old to have gone through that tragedy as an SHES student.]
It's neither here nor there w/r/t his commitment, but damn - that wasn't that long ago, and Newton, CT and Sandy Hook are sadly evocative of that horror.
It's jarring to see Newtown/Sandy hook in a different context isn't it?
I have a feeling that one or both of these guys might be on their short list now. It would be great to see that town have something positive to celebrate.
IT IS NEWTOWN. LIKE A TOWN THAT IS NEW.
IT IS NOT NEWTON, THAT IS A PHYSICIST.
Your caps lock key is stuck.
Just like Charleston isn't a TOWN that is CHARLES, its place where there are a TON of CHARLESES. Learn how to read.
I kid, I kid.
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Why are we spending yet another scholarship on a 3 star project that people have to make up all kinds of tortured arguments to justify? The 2017 class is already full of them. Every time we sign a 3 star, OSU signs a 4 star. That's a losing trend.
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Compare this kid to OSU linebackers who are lethal quick and explosive. I don't see him anywhere but as a bruising, blocking fullback. He's college ready in size, that's not the issue. It's simply lack of speed.
He's also already a good chunk bigger as a high school senior-to-be than either of those guys were as college players so simply comparing their athleticism (which I'm still not sure about) isn't exactly fair. And Joe Bolden's issue was never his ahtleticism anyway, so I don't see why you chose that. This is like saying a QB isn't as good as Shane Morris because he can't throw as hard.
He's not a burner by any means, and he won't be Jaylon Smith out there, but for a guy who already has plenty of size, he's not that slow. Some guys come to college needing to get bigger while maintaining their speed. He needs to get a little faster while maintaining his size. Take a look at the 255+ LBs at the combine (and not the crazy first round ones). Mason's speed is not far off from that, and he's 18 months away from being a college freshman.
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First, those quick LBs at OSU don't play the MLB position that Mason would play at Michigan. Second, he's just as likely to be a bruising FB as he is a LB. In 2-3 years he may be crushing those smaller OSU LBs, springing RBs for huge runs and taking the ball on FB dives to punch through the OSU line for TDs.
WIth how much play the FBs got this year, it shouldn't bother anyone that Michigan is taking 2 this year or that they aren't highly rated. FBs don't get highly rated and they aren't flashy, but they are key parts of the Harbaugh offense.
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dat bicep vein
For those wondering how Mason would fit on defense, here's a tweet Lorenz linked showing how Brown uses the MLB.
BC linebacker Steven Daniels on an island against the fullback. Could have been an easy TDhttps://t.co/ztU7EXyhlh
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) March 21, 2016
Exhibit A for the Miracle of Pad Level.
Everyone on this thread hating on the kid must not realize the importance of what goes on between the ears at MLB. He looks like a Big Ten caliber football player to me, key word FOOTBALL PLAYER! Harbaugh's system depends on kids like this.
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all programs need "kids like this" as you put it. and youre right - while athleticism and measurables are vital at all spots, instincts carry value too, particularly at LB.
the goal remains signing the best possible 15-30 prospects every single year but even bama, osu, usc, etc sign these type prospects. i dont expect all commits to be "splashes" bc thats not reality but i do expect the coaches to sign only prospects they truly envision as starters or players impacting the game in their role.
harbaugh has demonstrated he knows what he needs to build winning squads so hes certainly earned the benefit of doubt from me (even when im mildly surprised by these type commits so early in the process)
Under previous coaches, I would have questioned taking this player given the measureable deficiencies. Now, I am kind of pissed ANYONE is questioning the offer. Harbaugh, man. Even if he isn't suited to play what we signed him for originally, Harbaugh and staff will make him a great tight end. Or punter. Or what the hell, quarterback. I am all in on the trust thing.
Harbaugh recruits kids the way I draft in my fantasy leagues:
Baseball: Find the guys with OF/3B/1B/DH, or SS/2B.
Hockey: Gotta love the C/RW combo
Football: Nothing like getting those WR/TE guys
Basketball: Most important is C/PF duo, followed by SG/SF
Exactly - there is a specific role in mind for this kid whether that be on Offense, Defense and/or Special Teams.
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