Michigan football signee, Ensworth senior Mason Curtis embraces family’s linebacker lineage
Mason Curtis had a choice in front of him.
The Ensworth senior didn’t necessarily have to play youth football.
“When I was younger, my dad told me, ‘I want you to play this year. After this year, you can choose to play football (or not).’ Me not quitting was the greatest decision I ever made,” said Curtis, who signed with Michigan on national signing day Wednesday. “That year I was able to start and instead of worrying about doing right or wrong, I just enjoyed the game.”
Once he committed to football, Curtis knew where he wanted to play on the field. The Ensworth senior and four-star linebacker prospect's late father, Rodney, played linebacker at Clemson. Curtis’ brother, Devyn, is a redshirt junior linebacker at MTSU.
Mason Curtis, at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, can cover a lot of space with his long wingspan, so much that Ensworth plugged him in at safety. He finished with 31 total tackles, three for a loss, four pass breakups, two defensive touchdowns, four fumble recoveries and one blocked field goal this season.
“Possibly, in (Michigan's) defense, he won’t have to come off the field as much,” said Roc Batten, who coached Curtis at Ensworth. “Because he can cover man-to-man, he can play zone, he can blitz off the edge and can even get into a defensive end kind of spot and be a rusher.”
“He’s freakishly athletic and his football IQ is extremely high.”
Curtis’ mom knows about the IQ part. Her sons fill their home with defensive scheme conversations around the holidays. “I probably know more than your average mom … which can be a little frustrating at times -- to know too much,” Curtis said. “But it’s been our life.”
Coaching up his brother is half the fun for Devyn.
“I try to help him as much as I can with what he’s going to be facing next year,” Devyn said. “We’ll be watching a game around the holidays, and I’ll just tell him about the schematics of why teams do certain things, certain techniques guys are doing. I’ll be looking at an edge or outside linebacker and tell him the reason for what’s about to happen.”
Mason Curtis, who was Michigan’s first Class of 2024 commitment, stuck with the Wolverines through a roller-coaster fall. In November, the NCAA and Big Ten began investigating the Wolverine program for sign-stealing in what became college football’s most talked-about story.
MORE: I'm Mason Curtis. Here's why I signed with Michigan football's 2024 class
“I know the coaches’ character and I’ll ride with them. I’m loyal to them,” Curtis said. “I really tuned out all the noise and just focused on my senior year. I think (the coaches) understood my loyalty to them and where I was.”
Michigan (13-0) will play Alabama (12-1) on Jan. 1 in a College Football Playoff semifinal.
“There’s definitely a standard there,” Curtis said. “Going in, I know the stage I’ll be playing on because of the brand of the athletic program.”
Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: National signing day: LB Mason Curtis signs with Michigan football
