“Meet The Best QB In Texas.”

-247Sports

Mason Fine has those intangibles coaches love, qualities that conjure a flood of football clichés. Smart. Fiercely competitive. Tough. Willing to take a hit. Tenacious. Excels under pressure. A natural leader.

Missing from that list are the measureables coaches desire. He isn’t big, standing 5‑foot‑11 and 190 pounds. He’s quick and mobile but not blindingly fast. He has a strong arm but not a cannon. For those reasons, despite setting Oklahoma high‑school records for passing yards (13,081) and touchdowns (166) and being the only two‑time Gatorade Player of the Year in state history, college recruiters were not interested in Fine. He was dismissed as a two‑star prospect and received only one FBS scholarship offer.

And yet, Fine is a two‑time Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year and this year was tabbed the best quarterback in Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

Because all Mason Fine does is make plays and win games.

“He’s a football player, pure and simple,” UTEP head coach Dana Dimel said. “If height was a factor, Baker Mayfield wouldn't be the first pick in the NFL draft. Mason’s that type of player.”

Fine accepted the offer from North Texas, a team coming off a 1‑11 season with a new head coach, and the Mean Green’s fortunes turned immediately. UNT went to a bowl game in each of Fine’s first three seasons. By the end of his junior season, Fine had broken the school records for single‑season and career passing yards, touchdowns passes and completions.

Before the end of his junior season, Fine broke North Texas school records for career passing yards, completions, attempts, and most 200- and 300-yard games.

FINE'S NORTH TEXAS RECORDS

9,952 Career Passing Yards - most in UNT history.

255.2 Career Passing Yards Per Game - most in UNT history

69 Career Passing Touchdowns - second in UNT history

827 Career Completions - most in UNT history

1,310 Career Pass Attempts - most in UNT history

140.2 Career Passing Efficiency - highest in UNT history

63.1 Career Completion Percentage - second in UNT history

14 300-Yard Passing Games - most in UNT history

1,594 Career Total Plays - most in UNT history

North Texas Single-Season Records - passing yards (4,052), touchdowns (31), completions (324) and pass attempts (511) in 2017

“I love his competitiveness.”

AWARDS

2019 WATCH LISTS

* - Fine was on this watch list in 2018.

“He’s tough.”

Heritage

Mason Fine is about more than football. He is one-quarter Cherokee and grew up in the small northeastern Oklahoma town of Peggs, 25 miles from the seat of the tribal government in the W.W. Keeler Complex near Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation.

That heritage is a source of pride for Fine and members of the Nation.

“All through high school, we were extremely proud of Mason and, more importantly, we have so many young people who look up to him and think ‘I can do that.’ It’s very uplifting,” Bill John Baker, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, told the Tulsa World.

Fine was exposed to Cherokee traditions, including the Cherokee language, by his maternal grandmother. Last August, North Texas began selling UNT shirts featuring "UNT" in Cherokee syllabary.

“I’ve done more than I thought I would with the platform that I have,” Fine told the Tulsa World. “I’ve been able to educate people in this platform. I want people to know more about our culture, where I come from and my heritage. It was a platform that I thought I would never have but since I’ve been down here, I’ve had an opportunity to do that and I’ve been proud of that. I’ve been able to spread, inform and educate.

Mason hopes one day to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

"That's what I want to go into after college, the political field and running for chief one day or studying indigenous law," Fine said. "It's important."

Media Requests

For credentials, interviews, photos or videos, contact UNT Athletic Communications:

Jordan Stepp, assistant athletic director
940-369-8329
jordan.stepp@unt.edu