Mason gets his chance to sparkle

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Aug. 16, 1999 | 10:19 a.m.

For Troy Mason, the waiting was the hardest part.

The speedy 5-10, 170-pound wide receiver from Bastrop, La., was one of the top wide receivers in practice for UNLV last year. But because the Rebels had seniors such as Damon Williams and Carlos Baker as well as then-junior Len Ware ahead of him at the time, former coach Jeff Horton decided to redshirt Mason.

"It was long and boring," Mason said. "I felt like I was working for nothing, but I knew it would pay off in the end."

If Mason's performances in fall practice so far are any indication, it's paid off a lot.

Mason has already worked himself up into a three-man rotation with Ware and junior college transfer Nate Turner at two wide receiver spots. It also wouldn't be surprising to see him put his 10.6 100-meter speed to good use on kickoff returns.

"He's a bright prospect," UNLV coach John Robinson said. "He has football savvy. I think he's learned quickly and I think he's doing an excellent job. He'll definitely play this year and I think he'll be a contributor. Depending on injury, he'll either play some or a lot for us."

"I've been working hard all summer," said Mason, who hails from the same hometown as former Rebel defensive line star Talance Sawyer. "I'm finally getting my chance to go out there and I want to make the most of it."

Although it was hard at the time, Mason believes redshirting was beneficial for him.

"I was told redshirting would be the best move," he said. "But I was young and wanted to play. I wasn't really upset about it. I just took advantage of it in the weight room and watching guys like Lenny in practice each day."

Mason, who caught 26 passes for 533 yards and five touchdowns his senior year at Bastrop, was recruited by schools like Arkansas and Louisiana Tech coming out of high school. He said he picked UNLV not because of his friendship with Sawyer, now attempting to make the Minnesota Vikings, but because of the opportunity to play sooner.

"This one the best choice for me," he said. "Talance was out here, so I knew someone. But Arkansas and Louisiana Tech already had a lot of good young wide receivers in their program. I wanted to go somewhere where they had a lot of seniors so I could get a chance to play sooner."

Now that chance has come.

"It's time for me to shine and show them what I can do," he said.

* FUMBLE-ITIS: The Rebels put on the full gear for the first time in Sunday night's workout at Rebel Park and it wasn't pretty.

There were at least a half-dozen fumbles during scrimmage situations, many of them by wide receivers or tight ends who got stripped after making a catch.

When practice was over, Robinson gathered his squad around.

"We lost this game tonight," he said. "Does anyone know why?"

After a few seconds, a player mentioned the fumbles.

"That's right," Robinson said. "That's something we really need to work on."

* INJURY UPDATE: Freshman defensive lineman Kawika Sagapolu is out of his protective boot but still sat out Sunday night's workout while recovering from an ankle sprain.

Sagapolu could return to practice as early as today.

Starting offensive tackle Robert Grundy also sat out the practice with a thigh contusion while quarterback transfer Jason Thomas was sidelined with a sore back.

Although there was full contact at the line, Robinson is having his squad from making tackles at the end of plays.

"We're not going to tackle much," he said. "Tackling is where you get injuries from and that's something we need to avoid."