Most of the time, Georgia Tech guard Shaquille Mason has to suffice with glimpses on video chats on his phone. This weekend, though, with the Yellow Jackets free on their open date, Mason will get the real thing — time with his newborn daughter, Kamrie Maleah Mason.
“Whenever our last day of practice is (this week), I’m going straight home after that,” Mason said Wednesday.
Tech has had plenty to celebrate thus far, as the Jackets are 4-0 for only the fourth time since coach Bobby Dodd retired following the 1966 season. On Saturday, they defeated Virginia Tech for the first time since 2009, their first win in Blacksburg, Va., since 2006.
It has been all the more so for Mason. His girlfriend, Sabrina Gonzalez, gave birth to Kamrie on Aug. 7.
Able to do little more at this point than eat, sleep and require diaper changes, she has nonetheless provided Mason with joy and inspiration.
“That has changed life for the better,” he said.
It’s the most significant improvement in Mason’s life, but not the only one. Mason, a senior in his third season as a starter, is playing at the highest level of his career.
“I’m a tough grader,” offensive line coach Mike Sewak said, “but he’s the highest grade in the room right now, by far.”
Mason is playing with textbook leverage, footwork and hand placement. During reviews of game video with the offensive line, Sewak said there will be instances when he will “just point to (Mason) on tape and say, ‘That’s how it’s supposed to be done.’”
Against the Hokies, Mason was credited with blocking 12 defenders to the ground, which was half of the offensive line’s total. Coach Paul Johnson, in naming him the team’s offensive player of the game, said it was one of Mason’s best games. It was no small compliment, given that Mason was All-ACC last year and has made 30 career starts.
“Last year, we were kind of surprised about some of the things he did, but now he’s being consistent with it,” running back Synjyn Days said. “It’s the same thing, but it’s still amazing, like, blowing guys totally off the ball.”
In the team video session following the Virginia Tech game, Days and teammates were floored watching Mason on a field-goal try.
“They tried to triple-team him, and they didn’t budge (Mason),” Days said. “He was blocking all three of them. I’m like, That’s crazy.”
Mason credited offseason study that showed how he could improve his form, particularly playing with lower pad level to improve his leverage, and consistency. He was feverish in his work habits over the summer, which has carried over into the season. Whenever the team runs conditioning sprints, Mason is not just trying to complete them, but to finish first among the linemen, Sewak said.
Baby Kamrie is no small part of the reason for the step forward, as the NFL has become not merely an aspiration, but a means for provision. Before every game, Mason writes Kamrie’s name on his wrist tape as motivation.
“Every time I think about that, I’ll just be like, I’ve got another mouth to feed, honestly,” Mason said. “That just gives me all the drive I need, just thinking about that.”
Mason said he was shocked when Gonzalez told him the news, “but at the end of the day, I was like, it can be a positive. Just look at the bright side of it.”
Kamrie is surrounded by family in Columbia, Tenn., where Gonzalez and Mason began dating in high school. Mason’s grandmother keeps Kamrie during the week while Gonzalez attends college. There have been trips down to Atlanta for Mason to see her.
“When he’s with her, he’s all about her,” Mason’s mother Alicia McGuire said.
Mason, who grew up in a single-parent home, has the makings of an excellent dad. His mother noted, for instance, that her son is a stickler about Kamrie’s feeding and sleeping schedule. Mason said he took 20 minutes to do his first diaper change, but called himself a “work in progress.”
“It is very new,” he said of fatherhood, “but you’re not first anymore. You’ve got to put yourself last now. It’s a game-changer.”
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