Barrie Mason
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Barrie Andrew Mason (January 11, 1975) is an American Football Quarterback that played for the Washington Red Hawks and was a back up Quarterback while he was playing for the New York Nightmare. He is considered by many as one of the biggest busts in the history of Football. His career was marked off by off the field troubles, media problems, and knee injuries during the end of his career.
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[edit] College career
In 1994 Mason led Cornwell High School to its 14th straight Wyoming state championship. After his senior year he was considered the top football recruit. He was getting so much attention from the major schools like USC, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, Miami (FL), Tennessee, Florida, and Florida State. However, when it was all said and done Mason decided to attend Penn State University which was a shocker since everybody thought he would go to a major school. Penn State had not won a Bowl Game since the late 70's. Looking to turn the program around, Mason started his first game in his junior year. In Mason's first game he went 11-19, threw for 142 yards, and threw a touchdown pass as Penn State beat Iowa 17-9. After that game Barrie Mason never looked back. In his junior year Mason threw for over 3500 yards and 28 TD passes. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year and he was a Third Team All-American selection.
In his senior season Mason led Penn State to a 12-0 regular season record. During the season Barrie Mason threw for over 4300 yards and 43 TD passes. Penn State was ranked #1 in the country and were going to face Nebraska in the championship game for the first time since 1977. In the first half Mason completed all 17 of his passes, throwing for 256 yards and 3 TD passes. The score was 38-3 at half. Seeing no point in playing, Mason let back up Roger Houston play in the second half. The final score of the game was 45-13 Penn State. Mason won unanimous MVP of the game and after the game he was awarded the Heisman Trophy due to his total impact for his team. and the governor of Pennsylvania came to the stadium to present the Championship Trophy. Once Mason returned to Pennsylavania, his number was retired during half time of a scrimmage game. Everything was going right for the First Team All-American.
[edit] The Football Draft
Once the college football season was over Mason was considered the most likely player to picked number one overall. However, once he left the combine his stock went down. Mason only had 7 reps and ran a 5.64 40 speed. The good thing was that during Pro day he completed all 734 passes he threw. Still predicted to be top 10 in the draft, Mason wasn't worried at all. However, the last process, the interviews, would destroy him. All 16 teams questioned his character and personality and no team planned on drafting him in the first round at all. Wanting to prove the coaches wrong, Mason tried to perform stand up comedy, but it then ended up in a fight which got him in jail for one week with a bail of 250 dollars.
As his stock went down, Mason started to fall apart after the fight. He soon figured out that his arm wasn't the same anymore and he couldn't run without falling onto the floor. Nobody knew what was happening to Barrie Mason.
When it was draft day the Red Hawks, who had the 9th overall pick, were looking to draft Tennessee QB Stephen Miller, but surprisingly the Cincinnati Crusaders took him 3rd overall. The Red Hawks panicked because they didn't want Barrie Mason, but they needed a QB so they wanted to settle for Dwight Ward, but he was taken 6th overall by the Minnesota Reapers. With no other option, the Red Hawks selected Mason with the 9th overall pick in the draft. The Red Hawks knew they would regret it and regret it they did.
[edit] Career with the Washington Red Hawks
Mason had a good first game, going 14-23, threw for 211 yards and 2 TD passes. The Red Hawks upset the Nightmare 24-23, but then they would lose the next 15 games with Mason putting up terrible numbers. In the 15 game stretch Mason threw for 1,098 yards, 4 TD passes and 25 INT. Mason finished the season with an amazing passing completion percentage of 24%. Feeling that he could have done better, Mason decided to tell the franchise that he would find another team, but the Red Hawks said that they would give him one more chance if he showed results. Mason promised that he would improve and he did.
In the 1996 draft the Red Hawks had the first overall pick and they selected Oregon Defensive End Jacob Williams. As soon as Williams was on the field he had an immediate impact. Offenses kept the ball shorter so it gave Mason more time to create nice drives for scores. Showing signs of amazing improvement, Mason threw 4 TD passes against Dallas. In that game Williams sacked Mac Erving 6 times as Washington won 51-24. The Red Hawks finished the season 14-2 and Mason threw for over 2500 yards, 18 TD passes and only 19 INT when Mason threw 25 the year before. Washington was expected to win the whole thing for the third time in team history, but Mason threw 3 interceptions as Washington lost to Dallas 27-17.
After that performance Washington released Mason and that was the end of his starting career. He was then traded to the New York Nightmare.
[edit] Career with the New York Nightmare
Mason rarely saw playing time in his third season since he played in the shadow of Joe Peterno. 9 games into the season the Nightmare were beating The Red Hawks 30-13 with just 3 minutes left in the game. Peterno was getting tired so they let Mason enter the game. One snap later Mason was left laying on the ground from a devastating blow from former teammate Jacob Williams. The tackle broke Mason's knee and that was the end of a disappointing career. Following his retirement, Jacob Williams apologized, but it didn't matter to Mason. He knew his career was going nowhere. It went nowhere fast.
[edit] New Coach and 2006 Championship Season
In 2004 Carolina Copperheads coach Matt Wilson retired from football and since Mason had experience with playing football, he was rewarded a job as the new Head Coach for the Carolina Copper Heads. His coaching record is not bad, going 32-16 in his first three season at the helm.
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| 8-8 | 11-5 | 13-3 |
| No playoffs | Champions | Division champs |
Now considered one of the top coaches in the league, Mason is finally getting the respect he deserves. He says some people are upset that he is successful, but most are very happy for him and they hope he has a bright future.
