Auburn running back Tre Mason is not used to this kind of notoriety. He’s certainly familiar with it, but when it’s his face being noticed, his phone blowing up … not so much.
Mason does not have to go far for advice on how to handle fame. That’s something his father — Grammy Award-winning rapper, producer and DJ Vincent Mason of the group De La Soul — knows well. And since Tre has spent the past month on college football’s biggest stages, Vincent has become as much of a coach in Tre’s life as Auburn’s Gus Malzahn.
“My dad has been dealing with it since high school,” said Mason, the former Park Vista High School standout and leading rusher for the No. 2 Tigers. “He’s coaching me up on how to handle it. But he’s been doing that since I was little, so it’s nothing new to me. I’ve been watching him.”
Going from the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City to the national championship game in the Rose Bowl — where Auburn will face No. 1 Florida State on Monday night — is not much different from his father playing Madison Square Garden or The Apollo.
And returning home to suburban Lake Worth for a week after the college football awards circuit wasn’t quite as peaceful as usual.
“It was different,” he said. “Neighbors knocking on my door, a lot of unknown numbers calling my phone, my face getting noticed everywhere. It was a fun experience, though.”
Mason’s ascent was swift. The junior was a key component of Auburn’s offense last season, rushing for 1,002 yards, but much of that is overlooked when the team wins three games and none in the SEC.
Still, it was a gradual climb to the top this season, much like his team’s. Mason’s first 100-yard performance did not come until the fourth game, when he ran for 132 yards in the Tigers’ lone loss of the season, at LSU. Three games later, he shredded Texas A&M for 178 yards.
Then came a string of noteworthy performances capped by an eye-popping 46-carry, 304-yard masterpiece against Missouri in the SEC title game.
Now Mason is at the top of Florida State’s “must-stop” list if the Seminoles are going to control the Tigers’ punishing ground game.
“We’ve played some good backs. I don’t know if any of them are quite Tre Mason,” Seminoles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan said. “This guy is a great player. We definitely have to gang tackle.”
Mason has run for 1,621 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. He was named the SEC offensive player of the year and had a seat at the Heisman table in New York, finishing sixth.
“Being in New York was a great experience,” he said, adding that going from the Heisman ceremony to the title game is “just making childhood dreams come true. If we win this game, it would just be complete.”
Mason is the third player from Palm Beach County to finish in the top six of the Heisman voting. Brad Banks of Glades Central and Iowa was second in 2002, and Anthony Carter of Suncoast and Michigan was fourth in 1982. He also is one of 15 players in Monday’s BCS title game who played high school football in Palm Beach County, including six who migrated to Auburn.
“This is the Florida guys’ Iron Bowl,” Mason said, referencing the name given to the Auburn-Alabama showdown each year.
Mason and quarterback Nick Marshall pace a running attack that leads the nation with 335.7 yards per game. Marshall arrived this season, transferring from Garden City (Kan.) Community College.
The two bonded quickly. Mason says Marshall is “like my brother.” Marshall describes Mason as “goofy” and says he sometimes has to tell him to get serious when they are on the practice field.
“But when it’s time to lock in, both of us lock in and do our job on and off the field,” Marshall said.
The Tigers will have no choice but to “lock in” on Monday when they face the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation and one that has allowed five rushing touchdowns — the fewest in the country, with all of those coming in the second half.
“That’s a great defense,” Mason said. “But we’re going into the game doing what we do and doing what brought us here. We’re not going to change much up because of who we’re playing.”
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