MIXTURE OF 'TALENT AND TOUGHNESS' HAS PUT LISTER ATOP ATHENS' ALL-TIME PASSING YARDAGE LIST
By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | October 3, 2022 | Photo courtesy David Alliger
ATHENS — Athens senior Mason Lister has used a mixture of talent and
toughness to start at quarterback in 35 straight games, and now stands
as the program’s all-time passing yardage leader with 4,618 yards.
“I’m
super-proud of him, there are times in his four-year career where he’s
taken a beating,” said Athens coach Jack Young. “Other than a few
timeouts and a couple missed plays, in four years that kid has showed a
ton of toughness and hasn’t missed a game.”
Lister was sacked 24
times during his freshman season (2019), but still completed 53.2
percent (82 of 154) of his passes for 1,182 yards and 11 TDs. He was
picked off nine times.
During the Covid season, Lister completed
59 percent (62 of 105) of his attempts for 938 yards, four TDs, and
three interceptions.
Last year, he completed 62 percent (108 of 174) of his throws for 1,560 yards and 16 TDs, while being picked off five times.
This year, Lister is completing 59.8 percent (67 of 112) for 938 yards and 12 TDs, while being intercepted six times.
Overall,
he has completed 58.5 percent (319 of 545) of his passes for 4,618
yards and 43 TDs, while being intercepted 23 times. He also has 16
rushing TDs.
Lister broke the previous record of 4,339 yards, held by Shane Raupers, during Athens’ 32-7 loss to Troy on Sept. 23.
“Mason’s
progression has been rock solid,” said Young. “In an ideal world, he’s
going to have a top-notch offensive line in front of him, but we don’t
live in an ideal world.
“Mason has gotten better … he’s made some
mistakes over his four years, but what I’m proud of he’s gotten better
at taking care of the ball — and that’s the bottom line; that’s probably
the thing I’m most proud of Mason for.
“We preach on three
things, and two of those are turnovers and big plays,” noted Young.
“He’s gotten better at taking care of the football and has made a lot of
big plays.”
Another strength, says Young, is getting the ball to guy who’s open, and not forcing throws.
“We have six guys we’re throwing the ball to, and they are six pretty talented guys.
“Mason
is starting to realize it doesn’t matter who he goes to, he has guys
who are going to make plays,” said Young. “He’s getting better all the
time in seeing that he doesn’t have to force the ball to someone because
he has other guys who can make plays.”
Not only has Lister had
to overcome a constant string of pass-rushers, he’s had to overcome his
coach’s self-admitted preference to run the football.
“I’m not a
big stats guy … coming from the school I come from, when you throw the
ball only three things can happen, and two are negative,” laughed Young.
“My
philosophy is if we can complete 70 percent of our passes, then it’s
worth throwing the ball,” he noted. “Mason is around the 60-percent mark
for his career.
“The common thread during his career for
opposing teams is ‘bring pressure,’” added Young. “We haven’t handled
that pressure well all the time … but he’s still around the 60-percent
completion mark.”
Lister’s progression, says Young, has come from the work he’s put into his game.
“Mason
is a kid who has worked hard to improve his arm strength, mechanics and
everything else that comes with being a quarterback.
“I said
when he was a freshman, I didn’t know if I had ever had a quarterback
that could spin it like him,” said Young. “When I say spin it, I mean
when he needs to put a little touch on it, he can put touch on it … when
he needs to drill the ball, he can drill the ball, and when he needs to
put it downfield, he puts it downfield.
“He’s worked hard on his
mechanics … he hit the road hard last spring, and went to a lot of
combines and camps. There are a lot of colleges and universities looking
at him,” noted Young. “If he just focuses on the fundamentals, he’s
going to find a place collegiately to play because he’s intelligent, he
can spin it, and he’s coachable.
“Sometimes he can be a handful,
but that’s OK, competitors can be that way,” added Young “That’s what I
like the most about Mason Lister — he’s a competitor.”
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