Georgia QB Hutson Mason assesses his play as ‘decent’

“I’ll say solid,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said when asked to assess Mason’s play so far. “This last ballgame: no turnovers, no picks, no fumbles. You know, there’s probably a couple reads he might’ve done a little different. But not a lot of critical errors, just a few things here and there.”

The raw statistical data will tell you this about how the fifth-year senior fared in his first two starts of the season: 70.8 percent completion percentage on 34-of-48 passing for 322 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. While he has not committed a turnover, he has fumbled three times, two from the center exchange and one simply dropped under heavy pressure. He regained possession each time.

Mason said before the season that the win-loss record was the only stat by which he wanted to be judged. By that measure, Georgia is 1-1 and 0-1 in the SEC heading into Saturday’s home game against Troy. But the reality is, as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback, he will be critiqued on every snap, by fans, coaches and media alike. And Mason knows that.

“I think it’s been decent; I’d say that’s a pretty good word,” Mason said of his performance so far. “I would like to see maybe a little better job of throwing the ball down field a little better. And we did do a little better job of that. No turnovers is a great thing, a high completion percentage. It just hasn’t been real pretty.”

Mason’s assessment jibes with the one from Bobo, the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator and Mason’s position coach.

“Has to get better at throwing the ball downfield and hitting our guys in stride,” Bobo said. “But the bright spot of his play is no turnovers, knock on wood. He’s protected the ball.”

Everyone acknowledged an issue with Mason’s timing. Both he and his receivers have complained that it has been slightly off. That has resulted in some missed throws and limited yards after catch.

“I don’t have an answer for it,” Mason said. “All I can say is we’re still working on it. And somehow we’re still averaging 40 points after playing two Top 25 opponents. Whatever we’re doing, we’re doing it pretty good. … And we’re going to get a lot better.”

Bobo said Mason has been somewhat hindered by the lack of dynamic playmakers at receiver. Flanker Malcolm Mitchell (knee) and split end Justin Scott-Wesley (ankle) remain sidelined by injuries. That has allowed secondaries to focus intently on Michael Bennett and Chris Conley while reserving single coverage for others.

The Bulldogs have employed running back Sony Michel and flanker Isaiah McKenzie — both freshmen from American Heritage High in Fort Lauderdale — in specialized receiver roles to address that situation. They have Georgia’s two longest receptions of the season at 36 and 33 yards, respectively, and both came on receiver screens.

Of course, before he could go forward, Mason had to look back at the dreaded play that ultimately sealed the Bulldogs’ fate in a 38-35 loss to South Carolina. As one might imagine, he would have done a half-dozen things differently on that play, and they’re all dutifully enumerated in his personal notebook.

But that is not all that’s in there.

“People focus on that play, but there’s so many things to look back on,” Mason said. “We had every opportunity in the world before that to win the game, whether it be a penalty on a long run, a couple of missed field goals, a couple of bad reads on my part in the red zone. There were so many opportunities to win that game and we just didn’t capitalize.”

They key, Mason said, is seeing that it doesn’t happen again.