Michigan Football: Big Ben Mason hidden gem for defense

Big Ben Mason’s fullback position has been fazed out by Michigan football as the Josh Gattis offense and yet his drive, strength, and motivation could have him seeing significant playing time on the opposite side of the ball.

Bleacher Report named Big Ben Mason as a hidden gem for Michigan football.

Where Mason fits, however, is a mystery.

In High School, Ben was expected to turn his defensive skill set as a linebacker into a collegiate scholarship. Michigan football had a different plan for the big man at fullback, which he was fine with.

“I just like football, I like hitting people,” Ben Mason said in an interview last summer.

Ben excelled at the position, clearing the path for Karan Higdon.

“That’s Ben Mason — he’s a wrecking ball,” Higdon expressed with a smile. “I knew what I was getting into when I was running behind him. He’s going to knock out the first guy he sees and I’m going to trust it and run behind him.”

With his former offensive position no longer an option, Ben looks to make his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball and coach Don Brown believes in Mason, even going as far as saying Mason is already a potential rotational player for the upcoming season.

“He’s got all June, July, and then August comes, he’s going to get it all over again, he’s definitely in the mix. If you said to me would he be one of the eight or nine guys you would consider putting in the game I would say that would be an easy one, absolutely.”

Brown also joked about Ben’s work ethic.

“Now you’re going ‘Don, he’s 260-something.’ Well, he’s got all summer, and if there’s a guy pound-for-pound that … like, if you go over there to that wall and say ‘I don’t want you to drive your head through that wall,’ he’s going to drive his head through the wall”.

Others have compared Mason’s style of play to that of a fictional character portrayed by comedian Adam Sandler.

“It’s a nightmare,” Michigan football tight end Nick Eubanks said. “Like Bobby Boucher. It’s a scary sight.”

It just so happens that The Waterboy is one of Ben’s favorite movies.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh explained exactly what he expects from Mason during the 2019 season.

“It’ll be a lot on his plate, we’ll see how he can handle it. I think he’s going to handle it really well. We’d like to see Ben Mason getting 60 plays a game, 70 plays a game. Could be as a three-technique, could be as a defensive end. Could be a little bit maybe undersized as an inside three-technique, but with his speed and quickness, I don’t know who’s going to stop him. I really don’t. And tight end, we’re going to play him at tight end as well in this offense. So there’s a fourth.”

While his permanent position remains a mystery, one thing is clear; he is terrifying the offensive line.

“I only went against Ben maybe once or twice, but I remember the reps vividly,” center Cesar Ruiz told reporters. “It was so much yelling and grunting, I almost didn’t believe it. I was like, ‘This dude’s really yelling at me right now.’

No matter where Ben ends up, by all accounts, he will be seeing the field and quite possibly more than people think.