09-19-2018, 09:41 PM
Mason Fine: Once unwanted, now unstoppable at North Texas
Fine, who joined North Texas in 2016, is already sixth in school history in passing yards (6,767), fourth in touchdown passes (45), second in completion percentage (62.6) and first in passer efficiency (137.04) through two-plus seasons as the Mean Green's starter. He completed 324 of 511 passes last year for 4,052 yards with 31 touchdowns (all UNT single-season records), earning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors. Now a junior, Fine currently sits fifth nationally with 1,143 passing yards on the season.
His college success is continuation of what he achieved in high school, where Fine set every single-season and career passing record in Oklahoma prep history at Locust Grove High School under coach Matt Hennesy. He became the state's only two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, and his 13,081 career passing yards and 166 touchdowns ranked eighth and fifth, respectively, in national high school history. But with a listed height of 5-10, he received practically no interest as a high school recruit.
That includes Arkansas — 75 miles away from Fine's hometown — which saw firsthand what it missed in him as he completed 24 of 45 passes for 281 yards and two total touchdowns. The Razorbacks weren't the only ones to miss Fine, though; he only received one Division I offer, from Austin Peay.
He thought he'd have a spot at Oklahoma State when offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich told him the Cowboys would come calling "if our guy decommits."
"In my mind I was thinking, 'OK, that’s scholarship.’ You know?" Fine said. "It was Nick Starkel, and I remember when he decommitted (he eventually went to Texas A&M), I just kind of got excited. I think I jumped to a conclusion of, ‘Wow, hey, this might be my break. I might get my lucky break here.’
“And I remember (Yurcich) calling me and telling me that their guy decommitted, and I was like, ‘Yeah? … Yeah?’ Kind of waiting on him to pull the trigger. And he’s like, ‘But, we’re still just going to give you preferred walk-on.’ That was kind of a punch to the gut. It wasn’t a real great feeling.”
As the 2016 National Signing Day approached, Fine's only choice seemed to be a regional Division II program or FBS walk-on.
http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-foot...xyccvkq6rr
Fine, who joined North Texas in 2016, is already sixth in school history in passing yards (6,767), fourth in touchdown passes (45), second in completion percentage (62.6) and first in passer efficiency (137.04) through two-plus seasons as the Mean Green's starter. He completed 324 of 511 passes last year for 4,052 yards with 31 touchdowns (all UNT single-season records), earning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors. Now a junior, Fine currently sits fifth nationally with 1,143 passing yards on the season.
His college success is continuation of what he achieved in high school, where Fine set every single-season and career passing record in Oklahoma prep history at Locust Grove High School under coach Matt Hennesy. He became the state's only two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, and his 13,081 career passing yards and 166 touchdowns ranked eighth and fifth, respectively, in national high school history. But with a listed height of 5-10, he received practically no interest as a high school recruit.
That includes Arkansas — 75 miles away from Fine's hometown — which saw firsthand what it missed in him as he completed 24 of 45 passes for 281 yards and two total touchdowns. The Razorbacks weren't the only ones to miss Fine, though; he only received one Division I offer, from Austin Peay.
He thought he'd have a spot at Oklahoma State when offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich told him the Cowboys would come calling "if our guy decommits."
"In my mind I was thinking, 'OK, that’s scholarship.’ You know?" Fine said. "It was Nick Starkel, and I remember when he decommitted (he eventually went to Texas A&M), I just kind of got excited. I think I jumped to a conclusion of, ‘Wow, hey, this might be my break. I might get my lucky break here.’
“And I remember (Yurcich) calling me and telling me that their guy decommitted, and I was like, ‘Yeah? … Yeah?’ Kind of waiting on him to pull the trigger. And he’s like, ‘But, we’re still just going to give you preferred walk-on.’ That was kind of a punch to the gut. It wasn’t a real great feeling.”
As the 2016 National Signing Day approached, Fine's only choice seemed to be a regional Division II program or FBS walk-on.
http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-foot...xyccvkq6rr