Road to 1991 Perfection: Mason Took Full Advantage of the Emtman Factor
The scouting report on Steve Emtman: Humble guy, not arrogant, yet neither the strongest on the team nor the fastest.
Hmmm.
So what was it that made Emtman the most dominant and decorated University of Washington football player of all time?
Take it from a guy who lined up next to the Husky defensive tackle and had the best view of the man's uninterrupted path to the opposing backfield.
Andy Mason.
The UW defensive end, who provided the above description of the Huskies' human wrecking ball, said it was a confluence of football attributes coming together at a high level all at once that created the great Steve Emtman.
"He was one of those people who had athletic ability and talent and good instincts, the perfect combination," Mason said. "And size. He was probably 290 pounds, but he moved really well laterally. He moved real well up front. There weren't a whole lot of people like him at at the time."
This is another in series of vignettes about the UW's 1991 national championship team, supplementing the conversation for the pandemic delayed and shortened season. We're in week 11 of this throwback series, Apple Cup week, using a lot of it to salute Emtman. The Huskies leveled Washington State in the rivalry game 56-21.
With Emtman drawing double-teams inside on nearly every play, Husky outside linebacker Donald Jone and Mason just pinned their ears back coming off the edge and teed off on helpless quarterbacks and running backs.
"You were just going out there and having fun," Mason said. "Every game was a blast, especially once we got ahead. It was an all-out blitz and pass-rush time."
With a guy like Emtman in the middle, it got almost ridiculous. He used his willpower and his physical gifts to demoralize the other team and make his guys play with the utmost confidence on game day.
"The thing was, we did blitz a fair amount, but we weren't calling blitzes," Mason said. "Most of our blitzes were automatic checks. Empty backfield, we were going no matter what set they were in."
Emtman, by doing what he did, unleashed those hounds.
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