Ridgeland’s Mason ready to give his all for Tennessee
The past 10-15 years have seen five Ridgeland Panther football players sign with FBS Power 5 programs.
Wednesday afternoon, they added a new name to the list.
Senior Phillip Mason became the sixth member of that group when he gave his signature and pledge to the University of Tennessee.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Mason. “I’ve worked long and hard for this. There were times I was down on myself and I didn’t think I was going to make it. Lot of haters coming through, but honestly, it just feels great. I’ve waited for this for a long time.”
Mason transferred to Ridgeland from East Hamilton in Chattanooga prior to last season after and immediately paid dividends for the Panthers on both sides of the ball.
While the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder had a few carries and caught a few passes on offense, it was on defense where he was most able to take advantage of his speed.
He spent quite a bit of time in opposing teams’ backfields throughout the season with multiple tackles for loss, including three against Class AAAAAA Dalton. Playing outside linebacker and defensive end, he capped the year by earning All-Region honorable mention honors in 7-AAAA.
“I think one of the main things that will make him successful up there is his work ethic,” said Kip Klein, who coached Mason during
his senior season at Ridgeland. “He works hard in the weight room and tries to stay conditioned yearround. Plus, he’s great in the classroom, so his he won’t ever have a
problem with his grades.
“His push and his drive should carry him. He might be a little behind some of the guys up there with size and weight, but not by much.”
Mason had interest from a number of higher-profile programs, including Florida, Florida State, Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern and Jacksonville State, but eventually opted for the
Vols where he will have preferred walk-on status when he arrives on campus in the summer of 2022.
He said he chose Tennessee foremost because of the bond he felt with the coaches.
“Tennessee was really the first one that showed some love to me,” he explained. “They were one of my first visits and I just had a great bond with the coach. He would always check up on me and he stayed in contact with me through the season pretty well.
“When I went on my visit, it naturally felt like home. I’ve done a lot of other visits and none of those felt the same as Tennessee. I love it up there.”
Mason said he hoped to be a versatile, hybrid-type of linebacker for the Vols in the mold of Arizona Cardinal standout and former Clemson Tiger Isaiah Simmons, who can play multiple positions on that side of the ball.
“I definitely need to work on my size,” he said, “but I’m a fast, aggressive person, so I think that will be very good for Tennessee’s defense.”
He added that he’s looking forward to the challenge of SEC football.
“I’ve always had to work for it,” he said. “I’ve always been the underdog and the younger kid in the group, so I’m definitely ready to work.”
Mason joins a list of Ridgeland FBS signees that include Nigel Nicholas (Oklahoma State), Mike Bowman (Alabama), Devin Bowman (Georgia), Mason Harris (South Carolina) and Vonn Bell (Ohio State).