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— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 5, 2015
ATHENS, Ga. — Before the start of Georgia’s football season, the primary question offensively concerned redshirt freshman Aaron Murray and whether he was up for the challenge.
Murray provided a positive answer right away.
The second biggest question was, “What if Murray gets hurt?” The Bulldogs haven’t endured such a potentially dire predicament through the first 11 games, but they are feeling much better these days about backup Hutson Mason.
“He has continued to get better every week, and I have a lot of confidence in him and how he’s progressed,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “He’s getting a lot of reps with only two quarterbacks taking the reps, and he’s going up against the first-team defense a lot, which has helped him. Aaron has rubbed off on him as well as far as how he’s prepared.”
Mason, a 6-foot-3, 191-pound freshman from Marietta, took all the first-team snaps in practice last week when Murray was hobbled by knee and chest injuries he sustained in the Nov. 13 loss at Auburn. Murray returned to practice this week and is scheduled to start a 12th consecutive game Saturday night against Georgia Tech, but the Bulldogs are confident should Mason be needed.
In four appearances this season, Mason has completed 9 of 17 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, which occurred on his first career attempt against Louisiana-Lafayette.
“He stepped in there at Auburn and took control of the huddle,” fifth-year senior receiver Kris Durham said. “That’s something you normally don’t see from a guy coming off the bench in an emotional game like we were having. He prepares like a starter, so I am very comfortable with him and his ability. He makes great passes and great reads and is going to be a great asset to this team.”
Said Murray: “If he gets in the huddle, all the guys know that he’ll be good to go and that we’ll get the victory Saturday with him in there, too.”
Back in August, Bulldogs coaches debated whether Mason would come in if Murray got hurt or if they would turn to redshirt junior receiver Logan Gray, who spent three years at quarterback before switching positions after spring practice. Gray worked some at quarterback last week, head coach Mark Richt said, and would be the backup to Mason if Murray went down.
“Hutson has had so much meeting time and practice reps that we’re comfortable with him being able to run our offense,” Richt said.
Bobo admitted that the offense would have to be scaled back if Mason played, because he does not want him to be in situations that could be confusing. That includes speaking to the media, as Mason has been off-limits to reporters.
“He’s got a lot on his plate right now trying to get ready every week,” Bobo said, “and the only thing he needs to worry about right now is what I’m telling him. I want him prepared and relaxed.”
Houston a finalist
Georgia junior outside linebacker Justin Houston was named Wednesday as one of five finalists for the 26th annual Butkus Award, given to college football’s top linebacker. The other finalists are North Carolina’s Bruce Carter, Boston College’s Luke Kuechly, UCLA’s Akeem Ayers and Texas A&M’s Von Miller.
A 6-3, 258-pounder from Statesboro, Houston leads the SEC with 10 sacks and is second with 17.5 tackles for loss. He is not expected to tally a sack against Georgia Tech and its triple-option offense, though he did get one against the Yellow Jackets last season.
“I got lucky,” Houston said. “I didn’t plan on it, and I’m not planning on it this year.”