Video & Analysis: Jay Harbaugh Explains Why Ben Mason Belongs On Offense
For two years Ben Mason was a battering ram fullback in Jim Harbaugh's power run game and the 250-plus pounder was very good at his job. As a fullback, Mason found the end zone nine times and had a long run of a whopping six yards. In between year two and three, Harbaugh decided to change things up.
Enter Josh Gattis.
In Gattis' new system, there would be no fullback. Mason was always one of Harbaugh's favorite players so the head coach decided to bulk his fullback up and move him over to the defensive line. In the season opener, Mason played 41 snaps at defensive tackle but since then, he's been on the sideline a lot more
Because of that, Mason is now back on offense as a fullback and, even though he's not carrying the ball like before, running backs coach Jay Harbaugh is glad to have Mason back in his room.
Brown's Breakdown
I'm fine with Mason being back on offense but it's a dead giveaway that Gattis' offense has been manipulated a bit. Before the season started, people close to program confirmed that Gattis' system did not employ a fullback. Period. Now, Mason is back in the backfield and doing a good job as a lead blocker, which has worked.
The move indicates that U-M is now running some sort of hybrid offense that utilizes a fullback to impose its will, a la the Notre Dame game, but also has the ability to spread teams out and make them chase, like we saw last weekend against Michigan State.
I could see U-M rolling out either approach, or some mashup of both, against Indiana this weekend with the ultimate test obviously coming next weekend against Ohio State. I'm still not ready to say that U-M has a shot against the Buckeyes, but the new found success as a passing team certainly gives both OSU and Indiana something to think about.
What do you think we'll see against Indiana? What about Ohio State? Comment below!!!
