Every young athlete wants to play for the hometown team. Few get the chance, but Marcus Anthony Mason of Potomac, MD, is living a dream. The star running back from Youngstown State has a shot to make the Washington Redskins. The YSU Penguins do not have a major TV contract, so few in the local area have seen Mason (5-9, 215) play since his high school days at Georgetown Prep. Here’s a description of his high school exploits found on Ysusports.com.
“All-time leading rusher in Maryland high school history…also tops the Maryland charts in career touchdowns and points scored…totaled over 5,700 yards in his four-year career as a varsity starter…despite missing three games with an injury, still racked up 1,532 yards and 29 TDs as a senior…named Area Player of the Year by the Gazette News…named the Metro Offensive Player of the Year by the Washington Post…also named to the Golden 11 All-State team.”
More found here. After high school, Mason attended the University of Illinois, remaining there two years before transferring to Youngstown State. You can read his Illinois profile at fightingillini.cstv.com. At YSU, Mason ran for 23 touchdowns and 1847 yards in his senior year. There is no published information that I could find on the reason for Mason’s transfer from Illinois to Youngstown State. Congo4269 opened at thread about Mason on ExtremeSkins.com, the official fan forum of The Washington Redskins. Congo suggests that Mason may be a steal as an undrafted free agent. Congo, who seems to know something about it, says Mason left the Fighting Illini because of his place on the depth chart. Youngstown provided a better chance to start. To see any real action, Mason will have to fight his way past recently signed Derrick Blaylock, and Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright and Clinton Portis. His odds of making the team went up Thursday when the Redskins announced that Nehemiah Broughton suffered a knee ligament injury during an OTA practice this week and could be placed on the injured reserve list. When the Redskins signed Mason, they also inked a deal with Lusby, MD, native Terry Caulley. He was signed to a three year free agent contract according to a story on ConnPost.com. According to the story by Neill Ostrout,
“A call from coach Joe Gibbs helped sway [Caulley] who also had offers from the Chiefs, Lions and Seahawks.”
Caulley played high school ball at Patuxent and he left his mark at the University of Connecticut where he ran for 31 touchdowns and 3187 yards. In January 2007, nfldraftscout.com (subscription required) wrote of 5-7, 183 lb. Caulley:
“. . . Caulley won’t be a featured running back at the next level, but some team might give him a training-camp invite as a return man or scatback.”
Caulley’s 40 yard time averaged 4.40. Caulley was born in Hawaii and moved to Maryland with his family when he was twelve. There has been no new news about recent Redskin signings. With Organized Team Activities started, my assumption is that the team has selected its candidates to move forward. Thus far, UCLA’s Justin Hickman is the only new face among defensive ends. The Redskins are carrying nine DEs on the roster at the moment.
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