HUTSON MASON

Hutson Mason was the state’s first quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards or 50 touchdowns in a season and the first to demonstrate the full game-changing impact of the spread offense at the highest levels in the state. His high school, Lassiter, had never won a playoff game and was coming off an 3-7 finish when it hired coach spread-offensive guru Chip Lindsey, who converted the Trojans to four- and five-receiver sets with Mason as its shotgun trigger man. Mason passed for 3,705 yards, the most ever for a Georgia player in the highest class, and led Lassiter to its first playoff victory. As a senior, Lindsay buried single-season records in all classifications by passing for 4,532 yards and 54 touchdowns and leading Lassiter to a 12-1 finish. Mason was the GSWA and Gatorade all-classification Player of the Year and the AJC’s Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year. Mason was also a Parade All-American and the quarterback on Georgia High School Football Daily’s all-decade Georgia team (2000-09). Mason still had few scholarship offers until late in his senior year and ultimately signed with Georgia. He became the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback in 2014 and passed for 2,167 yards and 21 touchdowns. Mason played briefly in the NFL and CFL.