Saskatchewan Roughriders tailback Tre Mason has been running like a madman lately … or rather a mad man.
“It sounds like he’s running the ball angry just based on the talks that some of the (opposing) linebackers and DBs are having with him,” guard Brendon LaBatte said Thursday at Mosaic Stadium when asked what he has seen from the first-year CFLer. “He’s definitely emotionally invested in the game.
“I think that’s helping him because he has run a few guys over and got us an extra two or three yards at the end of the run. Instead of being second-and-five, you can be second-and-three.”
LaBatte described hearing “all kinds of smack talk” aimed in the direction of Mason by defenders. It obviously hasn’t been working.
“As a new guy in the league, they’re always going to have something to say to you,” LaBatte said. “They’ve been trying to get into his head, but I think they’re only adding fuel to his fire.”
“I don’t think they get under his skin,” added Kent Maugeri, Saskatchewan’s running backs coach. “He’s a happy-go-lucky, always-smiling type of kid. But he definitely runs like his hair is on fire, which I like.”
Asked if he derives any motivation from the trash talk he has been hearing, Mason simply said: “I just handle my business.”
He certainly has been doing that of late.
The 5-foot-9, 209-pounder set CFL career highs in carries (20) and yards rushing (117) in Saturday’s 32-27 victory over the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He’s now sixth in the league’s rushing derby with 515 yards on 93 carries.
The 100-yard game in Winnipeg was the first time Mason had exceeded the century mark in a game since Nov. 30, 2014, when he had 117 yards on 14 carries in the St. Louis Rams’ 52-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders. That was his finest statistical performance in the NFL.
“(Getting to that level again) means a lot,” Mason said. “This is fun, this is what we like to do, this is our passion. Those (statistical) things are extra when it comes with a win. When you put up 100 yards and get a W on top of that, it makes it that much better.”
Mason was an NCAA star at Auburn University, where he rushed 516 times for 2,979 yards and 32 touchdowns and returned 42 kickoffs for 1,107 yards and two TDs in 38 games. His 1,816 yards rushing in 2013 broke the single-season school record of 1,786 set in 1985 by Bo Jackson.
Mason was selected by the Rams in the third round (75th overall) of the 2014 draft and began his NFL career that fall. He played in 25 regular-season games over the next two seasons, rushing 254 times for 972 yards and five TDs.
But the 2015 season was his last in the NFL. He didn’t attend the Rams’ training camp in 2016, was put on the reserve/did not report list in July of that year and then was released in March of 2017 after some off-field incidents.
On May 30 — the day he signed with the Roughriders — Mason told reporters that he “never really wanted to leave the game.” On Thursday, he said that being out of football for two full seasons made him miss it.
“It was rough, but we’re here now and I’m playing,” said Mason, who played some football (he noted it wasn’t organized) and kept training during his hiatus in hopes of resuming his career.
The opportunity to do that came in the CFL.
Maugeri had to start on the ground floor when it came to teaching Mason the Canadian game — “He didn’t know there were 12 guys on the field, so it has been from A to Z,” Maugeri said with a chuckle — but Mason has been a willing student.
“Since Day 1, his progress has been really good,” Maugeri said. “The competition with the other three guys has really helped all of them, but Tre especially. He’s getting in his book, he’s learning the CFL game and he’s getting better every game and every carry.”
Mason began the season as part of a three-man rotation with Marcus Thigpen and Jerome Messam. The number of tailbacks dropped to two when Messam was released July 30, but then increased to three when Cameron Marshall was signed Aug. 13.
Mason was a designated international for Saskatchewan’s first seven regular-season games, but he took over as the starter four games ago. He has rushed 51 times for 264 yards in those contests, while Thigpen has carried 12 times for 100 yards in three games and Marshall has rushed four times for 10 yards in one outing.
Maugeri and Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones both said that Mason’s vision and instincts have been improving in recent weeks, which explains his increased workload and production.
“After not carrying it for a while, it takes a little bit to get back in the groove,” Maugeri said. “He’s one of those backs who gets better each carry he gets in a game. He gets in a rhythm and he gets in a groove. The more you see it, the more it slows down for you.”
Mason also has proven to be a capable receiver (he has 17 catches for 88 yards) and a willing blocker, but Maugeri said the 25-year-old product of Palm Beach, Fla., still has to work on ball security and on handling defensive pressure packages that he wouldn’t have seen in the NFL.
Mason is OK with that, suggesting he’s ready to “keep on grinding (and) keep pushing” as he adapts to the CFL.
“I’m out here playing ball, putting together some W’s (and) finding ways to win,” Mason said. “I enjoy that.”
