Former YSU standout TB Mason survives final cut with Redskins

Marcus Mason is listed as Washington’s No. 4 running back.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

Probably the greatest thing that happened to Marcus Mason last Saturday was nothing.

Saturday was the final National Football League cut as teams had to get down to their season limit. Mason, who was a roster long-shot at the beginning of the season with the Washington Redskins played the waiting game.

A two-year standout at Youngstown State where he earned All-American honors and the Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the year, Mason signed with the Redskins as a free-agent.

The Pontiac, Md., native waited all day Saturday for that call telling him he had been cut, but it never came.

The 5-foot-9-inch, 218-pound running back, had a strong preseason and probably solidified his roster spot with a strong showing in the preseason finale in Jacksonville where he rushed for 54 yards on 12 carries.

Preseason totals

In four preseasons games, Mason rushed for 95 yards on 25 carries and scored a touchdown in the first preseason game against Tennessee.

Mason is a local prospect, having starred at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md., where he was the school’s all-time rushing leader with 5,700 yards.

He accepted a scholarship at the University of Illinois, but after two seasons he was unhappy and looked elsewhere where he found Division I-AA Youngstown State.

In two seasons at YSU, Mason rushed for 2,739 yards on 478 carries and scored 31 touchdowns.

In his senior year he rushed for a school-record 1,847 yards on 302 carries and 23 touchdowns and led the Penguins to the Gateway Conference championship and the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs where they reached the semifinals.

No. 4 running back

Mason, who is listed as the team’s No. 4 running back behind veterans Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts along with Rock Cartwright.

Getting the opportunity to play for his hometown team is exciting for Mason.

“It’s a great opportunity and a great experience,” he said. “It means a lot, growing up around here, it’s a great experience to play for your home team, let along play in the NFL. It’s all I thought about growing up, ever since I was 6 years old.”

While a lot of people were surprised at Mason making the final roster cut, one person wasn’t at all surprised — his head coach at Youngstown State, Jon Heacock.

“I said the same thing to every NFL scout that came through here that Marcus was an exceptional football player,” Heacock said. “It didn’t surprise me at all that he made the cut, not at all.

“His biggest attributes were his work ethics and his respect for the game of football,” Heacock said. “His ability to study and understand the game made him the great back that he is.”

“He’s an old school student, in his own way, of the game and today those guys are hard to find,” Heacock said.

“Every time he carried the ball here in practice or in the game, he expected to get it into the end zone,” Heacock said.

Says YSU helped him

Mason said he feels that his experience as YSU helped him get the chance to get to the NFL.

“My experiences at YSU will always remain with me,” he said. “They were great times and I feel that I became a much better football player there.”

Mason knows now that his work is just beginning if he wants to remain a member of the Redskins.

“Being the No. 4 running back means that if I want to get on the field, it is probably going to be with special teams,” he said.

“I’ve put a big emphasis on running down on kickoffs and I’ve worked on returning kickoffs,” he said. “My main thing now is that I have to be able to tackle on special teams. That’s tough for me right now, because I haven’t tackled anyone since high school.”

But tackling players couldn’t be any more difficult for Mason than it was to tackle an NFL roster spot.

mollica@vindy.com