Mason Randall waited patiently for the chance to play as a defender at the University of San Diego.
He finally received the opportunity in the fifth year of last year, but it was not quite how he imagined it would be.
The San Diego fall season has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but now, like other teams from FBS and local high schools, the Toreros are playing a truncated spring season.
Randall, the former Sacred Heart Prep star, is starting out as a defender and performing well, completing 68 percent of his passes and averaging just under 270 yards per game.
“When football was canceled in the fall, I was a little nervous,” said Randall. “Giving us half a season in the spring was good. ”
The Toreros are 3-1 with two games remaining. They play against teams from all over the country as part of the Pioneer Football League, and have already made trips this spring to Iowa to play against Drake and to South Carolina to play against the Presbyterian. They have two games left, at home on Saturday against Stetson and April 17 in Valparaíso.
With the NCAA guaranteeing an extra year of eligibility for member athletes, Randall is looking forward to playing a full season in the fall. When this season is over, he hopes to graduate in December with a double specialization in marketing and communication.
San Diego still runs West Coast Offense, first installed when Jim Harbaugh was the head coach and David Shaw was on his team.
“Many teams now run the spread or the Air Raid, so we give the teams a different look,” said Randall.
Like many former high school highlights making the transition to college, Randall cited the speed of the game as the biggest difference.
“At Sacred Heart we performed a single fly attack, so we saw the same coverage all the time,” said Randall. “In college, we practice a more balanced attack and we see a ton of cover. ”
Randall held the SHP for three years and led the Gators to appear in two state championship games. Although he has lived in San Diego for the past five years, he still keeps up to date with his alma mater.
“I always like to see updates,” he said. “I talk to (current SHP quarterback) Teddy Purcell when I’m in town and tell him to bring his receivers. I am very happy for the coach (Mark) Grieb. ”
In his final year, he gave a touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Daschbach (now playing baseball at the Baltimore Orioles organization) in the final seconds after receiving a wide receiver sidekick Nick O’Donnell in a trick play, to beat Riordan by 35-28 in a memorable final for the Central Coastal Section championship.
During Randall’s first four years in San Diego, he watched and learned as a starter Anthony Lawrence (who started playing professionally in Japan) and Reid Sinnett (who joined the Miami Dolphins taxi team) as a defender for Toreros. He made good use of that time, increasing his knowledge of the game.
After playing a full season this fall, Randall said he will look for opportunities to continue playing – abroad as Lawrence did or in the Canadian Football League, if there is no test with an NFL team. And as soon as his playing days are over, Randall said he would like to work as a coach.
“In the past five years as a reserve defender, I have learned a lot about attack and defense,” he said. “I will definitely try to get into training. I graduated in marketing to be sure, but I need to be connected to sports. ”