Like a lot of people, Georgia Tech guard Shaquille Mason had a conversation with co-workers about his weekend. This one was a little different. Mason interns at Barton Executive Search with teammates Shawn Green, Quayshawn Nealy and DeAndre Smelter.

Mason said that Nealy, a linebacker, and Green, a nose tackle, tried to take responsibility for Tech’s 48-43 loss to North Carolina.

“They were like, Man, that was the defense’s fault,” Mason said. “There’s no way we should have lost if y’all put up that many points.”

Mason would have none of it.

“It’s not more on the defense than us because we had plays where we could have put up more points,” Mason said. “It just goes both ways.”

Coach Paul Johnson said he was not concerned about division forming between the high-performing offense and the struggling defense.

“Our kids are all together,” he said. “They understand what it takes.”

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