Sixty-five miles.
Just over an hour away, mostly on U.S. 412.
That’s how far it is, how long it takes, to get from Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville to Locust Grove, Okla.
I am sure most in the crowd of 44,000 at Fayetteville on Sept. 15 had never heard of Mason Fine or Locust Grove before the North Texas game with Arkansas. They do now, especially after Fine guided the Mean Green to a 44-17 beatdown of the Razorbacks.
While three Arkansas quarterbacks combined to throw six interceptions, Fine passed for 281 yards with no interceptions.
I watched a video where Fine spoke fondly of growing up in northeast Oklahoma and his love for a landscape filled with trees and foliage. Fayetteville has trees. Fayetteville has foliage. But the Hogs never offered.
“Growing up, I watched a lot of Arkansas games on TV,” Fine told Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World. “When I was in high school, I sent letters to Arkansas and attended their camps. A lot of people might tell me now that I’m doing a good job, but a couple of years ago, some of those people didn’t think I was very good.
“I just have to stay focused and reset every week.”
It’s not the goal here to kick the Razorbacks while they’re down. Rather, it’s to remind high school players who feel unwanted that dreams are still possible with hard work and a burning desire to succeed.
Fine is a high achiever who was also overlooked by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and even Tulsa, which would’ve been a good fit after he graduated from high school with a 4.0 grade-point average. After much frustration with the recruiting process, Fine accepted a Division I scholarship from North Texas State after his former high school coach recommended him to Eagles coach Seth Littrell.
That relationship has worked out well for the Mean Green, who beat an SEC opponent for the first time since 1975.
Arkansas faced a quarterback Saturday, Jarrett Stidham, who was a 4-star recruit from Stephenville, Texas. Stidham (6-2, 210) has the size college and NFL teams love. But there are plenty more high school players out there like Fine (5-11, 185), who was rated a 2-star college prospect despite setting passing records in Oklahoma.
Fine did not let his lack of height and notoriety define him. He’s a junior now and a three-year starter on the nation’s top passing offense.
The latest Heisman Trophy watch by ESPN lists quarterbacks Kyler Murray (Oklahoma), Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), and Will Grier (West Virginia) as the leading contenders to win the coveted award in December. Haisten suggests Fine could be in the mix, especially if the Mean Green win the championship in Conference USA, where Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic team was the preseason favorite.
Fine’s appearance in New York City for the Heisman Trophy announcement is a long shot, but he and his North Texas teammates should be 4-0 heading into Saturday’s conference opener against Louisiana Tech.
“People want to talk about his stats, but that’s the last thing Mason wants to talk about,” Littrell said of his quarterback during an appearance on the Jim Rome Show. “He’s all about competing for championships and winning football games. He has a tremendous drive and determination to be successful.”
So, could the undersized, overlooked quarterback from Locust Grove, Okla., have a future in the NFL following his college career? That’s yet to be determined, but there’s one thing for certain.
Fine didn’t let the tape measure that labeled him too small for big-time success hold him back. Doug Flutie refused to believe it as did Drew Brees, who left Texas for his chance at Purdue.
Fine is just the latest in a long list of undersized players to prove his doubters wrong, and that should be encouraging to all high school athletes.
Rick Fires can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter@NWARick.