Hutson Mason - The Wrong Mentality, Buddy

Submitted by UGACory on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 10:15
Hutson Mason - Back-up QB for UGA

Good morning, Dawg Fans! 

Our crew had a great night in Nashville last night. If you ever get the chance, check out Blackstone Brewery - great micro-brews and great food!

Now, against my happy-go-lucky attitude, I felt like I needed to address an interview I read this morning with Hutson Mason with Seth Emerson from Macon.com.

Many of you know, I'm a quarterback guy. That's the position I coached, and it’s the position I am most familiar with. The thing I love most about being a QB-guy is that I understand the process it takes to go out and be successful. I understand the mental attitude you need to have in order to be a leader of men. You have to be the guy who suffers. You have to be the guy that everyone looks to for blame. You have to be the one, that when the game is on the line, you either will come out on top as a hero or you go down as the one who lost it.

The quarterback position is so tough because you have to put everyone else first. No matter the accolades you receiver - and there will be many if you are successful - you have to give credit to the guys who allowed you to get there. You basically have to be the total "TEAM" guy. 

Now, this interview from this morning, titled - Hutson Mason on his future: 'I've just gotta do what's best for me,' REALLY pissed me off this morning. Now, I got to see Hutson play a few times at Lassiter and he is a good kid and a hell of a QB. Hell, if he had went to where he wanted for basketball, I would have ended up coaching him his last 2 years - however, I cannot imagine why he would say some of the stuff he said to the media, knowing his teammates - the guys he sweats and bleeds with every day - would read this. Here are a few questions from the interview:

"Q: It’s such, like you said in the spring a ‘sticky situation,’ he’s a sophomore you’re a sophomore, so it’s not like ‘I’ll get my time.’ So how would you like to see it handled eventually?

Mason: (Sighs.) Man, dude I don’t know. It’s kept me up a lot of nights, I mean a lot. It’s rough. I would probably have a lot of peace with it if I knew that 'Hey Aaron’s a junior or senior and hey my time will come.' But not getting redshirted and just knowing that me and him are the same year, and knowing that the pros don’t look as good next year (for Murray), that my time’s ticking. It’s just something that I’ve really been praying about real hard, trying to figure out God’s will for my life.

And its here, or if it’s somewhere else. I hope it’s here. I want to play here, and prove to myself that and to people that I can play in the SEC. This is the best conference, and I see on game day how live and how much energy there is. And I can’t imagine taking a step down for that. But I want to play real bad. Like I told everybody I didn’t come here to ride the pine. I don’t know. I’ve always said I’ll evaluate myself after every season, and that’s what I’ll do at the end of this year. I probably won’t be able to tell you till the end of the season.

...

Q: In closing, it just seems that you’re not angry with the situation, you’re just looking at it from a cold-blooded, kind of business standpoint.

Mason: Yeah, from a mature person’s standpoint I don’t think there’s anything I can be mad at right now. I’d probably be a little frustrated if I wasn’t getting my shot and Murray wasn’t playing well. But by no means is that it: Murray’s been playing very well and he’s been winning games for us. Even when we lost, he’s played good enough where we should’ve won. So from that perspective, like the old saying goes there’s some things that life throws at you that you just can’t handle. And it’s just one of those weird situations where I’ve just gotta figure out what’s best for me and how important it is for me to play.”

Hutson, buddy, this is not a cold-blooded business decision nor is it a decision from a mature person's standpoint. You don't talk to the press about these kinds of issues. You talk to your coaches, your family, and your teammates - not the press. Not me, not Seth, not anyone. All this does is take away from the focus of "TEAM" and puts the spotlight on you. You're one hell of a QB, and if you're good enough to play, you'll play. I just know the kid didn't mean to say what he said, but, if I was his coach, I'd say, "Son, you have a team full of guys who depend on you for stability. You can't hold this team or position hostage just because you haven't got the playing time you want. Now, I know you just want to play, but this is not how you go about it..." 

I feel for the kid, I really do. I'm also sure I'm taking this out of context - or at least I hope I am. However, if this really is his mentality, maybe he is where he needs to be, because he is not ready to suffer and be a leader of men.

Tags: 
Hutson Mason
Georgia Bulldogs

Comments

Submitted by yo (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 10:50.
How do you take that out of context. Pretty simple.
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Submitted by UGACory on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 10:59.
But, I am trying so hard to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes the media skews interviews, but you are right, it is pretty plain and simple to read. Not a whole lot of wiggle room for interpretation.
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Submitted by Big Dawg (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 11:04.
Richt needs to stop playing favs and just play the better player! Hutson Mason "understands why he hasn't played more, given that Aaron Murray has played well." I must be watching a team that looks like the Dawgs! Because the guy playing QB for the team I have been watching ALL SEASON has looked terrible!!! Avg 2 ints a game, had back to back games with pick-6s, throwing into THRIPLE coverage, WAY over throwing receivers, NOT checking off to WIDE OPEN (by 10 – 15 yards) receivers, etc, etc. They need to play Hutson more!!
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Submitted by Kris (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 11:42.
What has Hutson showed you that you feel he is entitled to play more? Granted he hasn't had the chance but all have seen is some nice throws against far inferior competition.
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Submitted by Thomas Brown (not verified) on Sat, 10/15/2011 - 03:35.
Kris, sir, what you are addressing is not what Big Dawg said, sir. Big Dawg did not state that Hutson Mason showed him something. What Big Dawg said is that (1) AARON MURRAY STINKS, that (2) Mark Richt plays FAVORITES, and that (3) give Hutson Mason a FAIR CHANCE to play a little bit. It's inarguable. As for inferior competition, we have ALL seen how Mark Richt has actually done against inferior competition. Here are some that stand out in my mind, Kris, Do they stand out in your mind how Mark Richt LOST to all these teams who were ALL quite INFERIOR ? We need to quit making excuses up for Mark Richt, when he certainly can go run to the press and BLAME THE PLAYERS FOR EVERY LOSS. 17 CUPCAKES – which of these is not a CUPCAKE we are ok for losing to ? 2010 @ Should’ve been 8-Loss Colorado who fired their coach because they lost to 7-Loss CA Lost to 6-Loss Baylor Bears for heaven’s sake and Lost to 5-Loss Texas Tech but who did not lose to UGA Even with their win over UGA did not finish in Top 25 CUPCAKE. 2010 vs Central Florida Conference USA good heavens who lost to NC St Kansas St and Southern Mississippi but who did not lose to UGA last year and who as a result of beating us ended up # 22 therefore had they not beat us would not have been ranked CUPCAKE. 2010 @ Should’ve been 6-Loss South Carolina who Lost to 7-Loss KY to end up ranked # 22 and therefore would not have been ranked had they not beat us CUPCAKE. 2010 vs Should’ve been 6-Loss Florida who did not end up Top 25 CUPCAKE. 2009 @ Should’ve been 7-Loss vols CUPCAKE who Lost to a 6-Loss UCLA and a 5-Loss Auburn did not end up Top 25. 2009 vs Should’ve been 7-Loss Kentucky who did not end up Top 25 and who Lost to a 7-Loss Missy St 6-Loss South Carolina 6-Loss vols and a 5-Loss Climpsum CUPCAKE. 2009 @ Should’ve been 5-Loss Okie St who did not end up AP Poll Top 25 CUPCAKE. 2008 vs Should’ve been 5-Loss Georgia tek who Lost to 7-Loss VA 5-Loss LSU 5-Loss NC and ended up # 22 therefore without win over UGA would not have been Top 25 CUPCAKE. 2007 vs Should’ve been 7-Loss South Carolina who did not end up Top 25 no bowl CUPCAKE. 2007 @ Should’ve been 5-Loss vols who Lost to 6-Loss CA and to 6-Loss Alabama, the quintessential CUPCAKE losing to multiple crappy teams like that. 2006 vs Should’ve been 5-Loss vols who ended up # 25 and would not therefore have ended up Top 25 without their win over us CUPCAKE. 2006 vs Should’ve been 9-Loss Vandie who did not end up Top 25 CUPCAKE. 2006 @ Should’ve been 6-Loss Kentucky who did not end up Top 25 CUPCAKE. 2003 vs Should’ve been 6-Loss Florida who did not end up Top 25 any poll CUPCAKE. 2002 vs Should’ve been 6-Loss Florida who Lost to 6-Loss Ole Miss 5-Loss LSU 5-Loss FL State CUPCAKE. 2001 vs Should’ve been 5-Loss Boston College who was not ranked when we played them and would not have therefore ended up ranked without then beating us CUPCAKE. 2001 vs Should’ve been 6-Loss Auburn who Lost to 5-Loss NC 5-Loss AL 5-Loss Ark CUPCAKE. Mark Richt IS the problem.
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Submitted by MikeyP (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 11:42.
UGACory. I certainly understand the point(s) you were trying to make, agree that this could cause somewhat of a distraction to the team, and 99 out of 100 times would agree with your position... HOWEVER -- on this issue, I actually agree with Hutson. He's been told that he's "earned" more playing time, yet it hasn't come. (See September 21, 2011 articles for full quotes). CMR & Bobo have made no attempt to get him playing time, even after publicly stating Mason deserved it. If you read the quotes, you will clearly see that the coaches really have no idea of what their "plan" is for this quarterback. You also see quote from A.Murray endorsing Mason and indicating there would be "no dropoff" should Mason take the reigns. Clearly, Murray is their guy, despite his difficulties early on this season. One could argue that Murray is playing solely based on his merits from LAST season instead of "earning" it this season. **If you want a truly spirited opinion and discussion on this particular matter, go hit up Dawg97 on the LeatherHelmetBlog** If Hutson is practicing as well as Murray, and he feels he has earned playing time (it's apparent his coaches & counterparts feel this way), why not ask for it? How else is he going to get to showcase his talents (ie.leadership) when he won't see the field because of his coaches inability to make the difficult decisions? Competition makes everyone better. I think Mason is frustrated because he feels he's even (or ahead) of his competition, but isn't being given the chance. Do I wish it would have played out in private versus happening in the media? Absolutely. Unfortunately, this became a media event when Richt, Bobo, Murray put the spotlight on Hutson on Sept 21st.
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Submitted by Booger Presley (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 12:28.
...from a 20 year old. Sounds to me like the guy just wants to play football. You can't fault him for that. I am sure he is good enough to play at Georgia but not quite good enough to beat out Murray. I am sure the guy dreams of playing on Sundays. He has no chance holding a clipboard. I am also confident that there is some media spin at play here too.
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Submitted by lakerga (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 13:26.
I completely disagree with you analysis of this. Hutson has been a "good Dog" for the going on 2 years. At some point a quarterback who watches his peers get chances to prove themselves whants his chance. How can you blame a anthelete who feels and has been told he is good enough toplay at this level for wanting the chance. I also saw Hutson play at Lassiter (every game). And agree he is a Heck of a quarterback. I say Give him a real chance or as a good coach shoul help him find his way to a place ha has a need.
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Submitted by Cory (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 14:54.
Definitely have very good points. Here is the thing that I disagree with you about - respectfully of course - I feel like if a guys feels that he has earned time, he needs to take it up with his coaches and that's it. Does Hutson deserve to play? Absolutely. All the guys on the team deserve to play. However, at the QB position, you can't just throw guys in and out. Hutson isn't a "change of pace" guy so to compare him with DJ isn't the right way to approach it, either. However, here is my point - a QB can't expect guys to play for him when he airs locker room stuff to the media. Is he justified in what he said? Maybe. However, I feel in order to be a leader you can't cause distractions to your team. I should actually be more pissed about the writer who set him up with these questions. You guys all have good points and I appreciate you coming on to discuss!
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Submitted by Dre (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 15:18.
Hutson, like Cam Newton, wants to play ball, not sit on a bench. He at least wants to be given a chance to compete on the field in some real games. Sign of a winner.
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Submitted by UGACory on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 17:51.
I can't see how Newton and Hutson have any kind of similarities, outside of that they were backups at one point. Newton, however, was kicked out of Florida for stealing a laptop, Mason is just a talented guy caught in a tough situation.
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Submitted by One Dawggone 'D... (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 15:32.
Hutson is just doing what he should be doing, assessing when and whether he will ever start at Georgia. He's probably behind LeMay next year and maybe even behind Brice Ramsey in a couple of years. Barring injury to Murray, Mason probably rides the bench the rest of this season (except against New Mexico State and Kentucky). I just hope he gets an assured starting role at another FBS school rather than leave to ride the bench elsewhere or start at a FCS school. Hutson's too good to have him leave for no better prospects.
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Submitted by rabundawg (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 16:27.
UGAcory, you could be seen as one causing dissention by your comments. This is a different age, Years ago none of this would have been aired out. There were no boards....That being said. I think he has been very honorable expressing his thoughts....
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Submitted by UGACory on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 17:54.
You are right, just like any media, I'm bringing attention to it. However, I think the timing of expressing his thoughts is the only negative thing. You're in the middle of a season, no need to call attention to yourself right now. If HM wants to transfer, I completely understand... the timing is the problem.
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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 17:17.
Nothing wrong with saying you want to play. Now if were to go around complaining, even if it's not to the press, that would be bad. He even acknowledged Murray was playing well. I read the article first and I didn't get any negative vibe from it at all....just that the guy wants to play and there's no class separation.
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Submitted by UGACory on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 17:57.
In fact, if he said he was okay being a backup, I'd think we have the wrong guy at that spot. However, the line of doing what is best for me and the timing (in the middle of the season) is what gave me a hint of animosity. I understand his situation, his age, and what he was doing - however, like I give you guys, from a coach's perspective, you want these kind of things handled in house, not in the press... and not in the middle of the SEC hunt.
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Submitted by South FL Dawg (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 20:52.
The timing - middle of the season - could be a distraction. But this is probably not the first his coaches and teammates hear about it and it's a quite easy to give him a pass considering he didn't say anything negative about anyone and what he said was all logical. Not an energy vampire iyam. Also just want to say I like reading your blogs......keep up the good work.
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Submitted by Stinkydawg (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 21:17.
He is making a decision about his future. Sure team is important. However, the young man is very good, it's his life, and he wants to play. If I were coach, when a starter isn't getting it done, then pull in the next guy. That will give your players play time, and get the message across to the starter. Besides all that. He wants, needs, and can play. If he wants to go where he can play, I don't blame him. He was given a promise that can't keep. The coaches need to fit him in somehow. Georgia wants to keep him, they need to give him some more play time. If not, let him go. I would be upset if he was my kid too. I thought he should came in the last 2 games way earlier. He will not get any experience if they don't give it to him!!!
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Submitted by Thomas Brown (not verified) on Sat, 10/15/2011 - 03:07.
"knowing that the pros don’t look as good next year for Murray" Well no, the NFL is not where Aaron Murray is going next year. He could've. Aaron Murray got here for the bowl game practices December 2008. 2009 he redshirted that's one, 2010 he was 0-5 vs the 5 teams he played who ended up in the Top 25 that's two, and this year he is 0-2 with no prospects for a 3rd Top 25 team in the final polls since Georgia tek has beat no one and that's 3. 3 years and you get to go Pro. So, no Hutson Mason, the NFL does not look good for next year when Aaron Murray if he was the greatest QB in The SEC this year, to go to the pros. This really is in a nutshell what the issues remain at UGA for this coaching staff. We RUN OFF players. We say how bad it is that Nick Saban does that. We do it a lot more ourselves. 29 players who should be playing tonight at 7 vs Vandie; 29 who will not. We never play our back-up QB; never. This season, Hutson Mason was RAPED by this coaching staff. Played a couple snaps vs Coastal Carolina - our 1-AA opponent of the year. Even in that game, they took Hutson Mason out and put in the Taxi Squad walk-on. No other game, has Hutson Mason played as much a 1 snap. Ole Miss - 1 of worst teams in college football Miss Sta - 1 of worst teams in college football Coas Car - 1 of worst teams in college football Vandie C - 1 of worst teams in college football TN .vols - 1 of worst teams in college football coming up more CUPCAKES : NewMex S - 1 of worst teams in college football Kentucky - 1 of worst teams in college football Auburn is not ending up a ranked team this season Georgia tek has beat absolutely nobody Florida is not ranked and has no hope of being so With this kind of a soft-easy schedule, I am certain that Hutson Mason thought he would have all kinds of opportunities to get in games and get playing time. Why haven't we done this ? Because Aaron Murray has been poor; very poor; and, against WEAK CUPCAKES, he has been pitiful. Talk about LEADERSHIP. When rookie TB starts jawing, do you see a guy who has been on our Campus since December 2008 speak to him ? No, instead what we have witnessed is Aaron Murray TWEETS on his national Twitter Account pre-game how he is now off to the Dome to kick some a**. 3rd Down Conversions Aaron Murray is the dead last worst in the nation. Last year and this year, dead last worst in the nation at 3rd Down Conversions. Run ? Please. Averages 1 yard a carry and yet steals 8 carries a game from the TB for his career, with no end in sight of that, either - this while all these other QB in college all average so much more. 18 fumbles in 19 games and 14 interceptions in 19 games. So, once again, as always the coaching staff can go run to the press and put all the blame for Aaron Murray's 10-9 record as our Starting Quarterback on the PLAYERS. But, the players, 29 of who are just GONE who the coaching staff gave Scholarships to for 2011 to play this year, oh - no - they cannot go to the press and say a thing. Such as PLAY ME
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Submitted by The Big Jenkins (not verified) on Sat, 10/15/2011 - 21:57.
Hutson Mason was a walk on to UGA. He has definitely worked his ass off to get better, and work his way up the depth chart, but we also forget that If not for Mett getting kicked off the team, Hutson Mason would just be the Scout Team QB. Not to mention Aaron Murray is 4th in UGA history in TD passes... In TWO YEARS. A QB is going to make mistakes, and you have to let him weather it. The moment a coach shows that he doesn't have confidence in his QB, the QB's play only gets worse. At this time, there is no reason for AM to lose his spot. Yeah GA started off rough, but they are on a 5 game streak. They don't need to make changes.
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Submitted by Thomas Brown (not verified) on Sun, 10/16/2011 - 03:49.
Worst 5 football teams in all of America. 5-game streak.
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