Following his 147-yard, one touchdown and two interception performance in a narrow victory over Tennessee, quarterback Hutson Mason found himself in the crosshairs of criticism from UGA fans.
One week later, the implementation of backup quarterback Brice Ramsey in the first half against Vanderbilt only fueled the talks of possibly replacing Mason with Ramsey.
Instead of making an impulsive switch, head coach Mark Richt stuck with the fifth-year senior and understood that he was still a first-year starter, despite his experience.
“Sometimes you just have to be patient,” Richt said. “And you’re like, well, I’m being patient with a fifth-year senior, but we’re also being patient with a first-year starter and there’s a different weight. There’s a weight that’s on a starting quarterback.”
Hindsight is always 20/20, but Richt’s patience early on paid off.
Since that Tennessee game in late September, Mason has transformed himself into one of the more consistent quarterbacks in the conference. Because of how much (and how well) Georgia runs the ball, his passing numbers will never reach the levels of the quarterbacks from teams like Texas A&M or South Carolina.
What you want from a quarterback like Mason is efficiency and he’s done just that.
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In his last seven games, Mason has protected the football better than anyone with 14 touchdowns and just one interception. Not to mention, his 68.4 completion percentage is tops in the SEC among qualified quarterbacks.
Mason was forced into a tough situation at the beginning of the season. As a fifth-year senior, he was tasked with essentially fitting an entire career into one season. That kind of pressure can force a player to try and make big plays more often, which usually leads to more mistakes.
It wasn’t until Mason realized he didn’t have to always make a big play, according to Richt, that he began to turn things around.
“I think Hutson’s deal this year was knowing he only had one shot at it and wanting to be perfect, wanting to not make a mistake, wanting to make the most of it,” Richt said. “I think it kept him from being free to cut the ball loose like he had done all along in all the practices we watched.”
“And then when he finally said, you know what, I’m going to get back to dropping back, hitching up and ripping the ball, he’s done extremely well,” Richt added.
Sitting at a 9-2 record, Mason has performed about as well as anyone could have expect him to do within UGA’s offense. The bulk of the offensive responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of the running backs, but when called upon, Mason has risen up to the task.
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Once viewed as a liability, Mason is now just a Missouri loss away from the opportunity to prove his worth once again on the national stage in the SEC Championship.
And if the last two months are any indication, he’ll be more than ready.
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.