MACON — This is Kymbotric Mason’s season to shine.
The way Noxubee County High School football coach Tyrone Shorter sees it, his 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior wide receiver has all the tools — experience, good hands, solid route-running ability, good speed — to be a go-to player for the Tigers.
If you need a refresher, you need only refer to Mason’s 37-yard touchdown reception from Timorrius Conner with four seconds remaining in regulation that lifted Noxubee County to a 20-13 victory against Lafayette in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A State playoffs. The Tigers won three more games to make program history and claim the school’s first back-to-back championships.
This season, Mason hopes to play a bigger role and help the Tigers extend their title run. As one of 24 seniors, he said he is poised to shoulder the weight of Noxubee County High’s football tradition.
“Coach has talked to me about being a leader and being a leader to the younger guys by working hard,” Mason said. “He told me that when I work hard they look up to me and they will start to work hard, too.”
Mason said he heard Shorter relay a similar message to the seniors on the 2015 team, particularly defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, who signed with Mississippi State. Mason said he looked up to Simmons because he saw how his teammate set the tone with a work rate that never seemed to stop. He said he learned a lot from Simmons, including how to stay humble and ask for the ball when a play needs to be made to help the team.
Mason feels the touchdown catch he made against Lafayette can be the start of something bigger.
“I gained a lot of confidence last season,” Mason said. “It helped me raise my game to another level. The catch against Lafayette changed the whole game. We were either going home or going to the championship.”
Shorter hopes Mason is ready. Even though the Tigers suffered key graduation losses, Shorter likes the depth and the number of weapons on offense. He feels Mason has the ability to improve on 2015, when he was second on the team with 39 catches and 809 yards receiving. He tied Ladaveon Smith for the team lead with eight touchdown catches.
“I see him do things and he shows glimpses of being able to do things,” Shorter said. “He made that tough catch against Lafayette in the playoff game. He is the player I look at being one of the top receivers in the state. He can make the tough catches when it presents itself because he has the talent.
“When the ball is in the air, he has to have an attitude like, ‘This is my ball.’ In his first three years, he showed glimpses of it, but he wasn’t consistent at it. He just has to be consistent at it.”
Shorter also has seen flashes of Mason’s athleticism in the gymnasium, where he dunks balls all of the time. He feels the 10 pounds Mason put on since last season will enable him to be more physical and give him an advantage against smaller cornerbacks. He said Mason also could see playing time at cornerback.
Either way, Shorter wants the big-time player that is inside Mason to emerge in 2016.
“He doesn’t realize how good he can be,” Shorter said. “I think he is going to be that player that makes everybody go, ‘Wow’ this year,” Shorter said. “Even though we have a young quarterback, we are not afraid to throw him the ball. I think he is going to do some great things.”
Mason said he will keep his recruiting open despite being committed to MSU. He takes pride in how hard he has worked because he feels he is positioned to earn a scholarship to play in college. Mason said the belief he had in that dream has set the stage for a senior season that he can’t wait to begin because he has big things in mind.
“I feel a lot different,” Mason said. “My route-running has gotten a whole lot better. I am attacking the ball and gaining confidence.
“I am going to keep working hard and being a leader to my team to help us get a three-peat.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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