University of North Carolina Athletics
2004 Football Roster
Michael Mason
- Position:
- Wide Receiver
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 191
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Rocky Mount, NC
- High School:
- Rocky Mount
2005 - Junior Season
Finished the season with 22 receptions for 372 yards and a touchdown • Caught two passes for 16 yards at Virginia Tech and ran back two kickoffs for 41 yards, including a long of 25 • Had two receptions for 32 yards in the win over Duke • Caught his first touchdown of the season on a spectacular 19-yard grab against Maryland • Had three receptions for 72 yards against the Terps • Had two receptions for three yards in the win over Boston College • Caught one pass for five yards at Miami • Had a team-high 66 yards receiving on three catches against Louisville • Led the team with a career-high 82 receiving yards on four receptions in the win over Utah • Made a 40-yard reception at the Utah 1-yard line, setting up a touchdown on the next play • Also had a key third down reception in another second-half scoring drive against the Utes • Had three receptions for 61 yards, including a long of 32, in Carolina's win over NC State • Made perhaps the biggest catch of the game in the third quarter on an 11-yard reception to convert a third and seven • Carolina was trailing 24-14 at that point and sorely needed to mount a scoring drive • Sprained his shoulder against Wisconsin and saw limited action • Caught two passes for 35 yards, including a 28-yard reception at the Georgia Tech 12-yard line, against the Yellow Jackets • Also returned two kickoffs for 54 yards, including a 32-yarder.
2004 - Sophomore Season
Had 19 catches for 272 yards and one touchdown • Ranked fifth in the ACC in kickoff return average (23.1) • Had four catches for 57 yards, including a long of 20 yards, in the win at Duke • Made two catches for eight yards in the win over Wake Forest • Caught two passes for 42 yards against Virginia Tech, including a 30-yard catch on third down to keep a scoring drive alive • Made two receptions for 42 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown reception, in a 31-28 victory over No. 4 Miami • Made a spectacular touchdown catch over two Hurricane defenders on the game's opening drive • Made three receptions for 46 yards, including a long of 35, in the loss at Utah • Also had three kickoff returns for 103 yards, including a long of 41, against the Utes • Caught a seven-yard pass against NC State and had two kickoff returns for 30 yards • Made two receptions for 19 yards and returned two kickoffs for 37 yards against Florida State • Caught two passes for 49 yards and had three kickoff returns for 64 yards against Louisville •Had three kickoff returns for 104 yards, including runs of 39, 45 and 20 yards • Made his first reception of the season at Virginia • Returned three kickoffs for 85 yards against UVa, including a long of 42 yards • Had three kickoff returns for 34 yards against William & Mary.
2003 - Freshman Season
One of 12 true freshmen to see playing time • Played in all 12 games and made his first career start at Maryland • Finished third on the team with 22 receptions for 313 yards and had three touchdown catches • Averaged 14.5 yards per catch, the second-highest average on the team of any receiver with at least 10 catches • Had a team-high 25 kickoff returns for 651 yards, an average of 26.0, and scored one touchdown • Ranked third in the ACC and 18th in the country in kickoff return average • Scored on a 96-yard kickoff return in the second quarter at Maryland • That tied the sixth-longest kickoff return in school history • Made at least one reception in 10 of 12 games, including two games with a season-high five receptions (Florida State, NC State) • Caught two passes for 49 yards and scored on a 44-yard pass from Darian Durant in the loss to Syracuse • Had season-highs in receptions (5) and yards (59) at NC State • Caught a 34-yard touchdown pass at East Carolina and had a 45-yard scoring reception against Wake Forest • Had a career-long 49-yard reception at Georgia Tech • Returned six kickoffs for 137 yards against the Deacons • Had 70 yards on kickoff returns at Wisconsin and combined with Michael Waddell (176) to establish a team record for kickoff return yards (246).
Rocky Mount High School
Member of The Sporting News Top 100 players in the country • Ranked the No. 4 player and top wide receiver in North Carolina by The Charlotte Observer • Ranked the No. 8 wide receiver by Rivals • Ranked the No. 1 wide receiver in North Carolina and the No. 11 wide receiver in the country by ESPN's Tom Lemming • SuperPrep All-America • Ranked the No. 13 wide receiver in the country by SuperPrep •Named to PrepStar's Dream Team • Named to the Nike Camp All-America First Team • Was the only North Carolina high school player named to the first team • Was voted unanimous MVP of the Nike Camp in Chapel Hill in June • Earned All-State honors as a senior • Finished runner-up to Chris Leak as the North Carolina player of the year • Selected as one of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution's Top 100 players in the South • Hauled in 66 receptions for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior, setting single-season school record for receptions and yards • Became Rocky Mount High School's career receiving leader in just two years • Had 62 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior • Caught 33 balls for 500 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore • Set school records for career receptions with 160 (6th all-time in North Carolina high school history) and career reception yards with 2,524 (15th all-time in North Carolina history) • Coached by John Hammett • Also competed in track in the long jump, triple jump and 100-meter dash (personal best of 10.6) • Won a state title in the triple jump.
Personal
Son of Marie Lynch and Gary Mason • Born February 28, 1985 • Hobbies include fishing and singing • Favorite food is Italian • Pretended to be Peter Warrick and Torry Holt as a kid • Wears No. 2 because he wanted to change from 88 (freshman season) to a single digit • Would like to switch places for a day with Lebron James • Says the best thing about being a football player at Carolina is "wearing Carolina Blue" • African American history major.
Receiving Year Rec. Yards Avg. TD LP 2003 22 313 14.2 3 49 2004 19 272 14.3 1 35 2005 22 372 16.9 1 44 Totals 63 957 15.2 5 49
Kickoff Returns Year No. Yards Avg. TD LP 2003 25 651 26.0 1 96 2004 22 508 23.1 0 45 2005 6 143 23.8 0 32 Totals 53 1302 24.6 1 96
