In-state OL Mason Neisen getting close to an offer

[Blair Sanderson]

Neisen getting close to an offer
Blair Sanderson | Editor

In-state offensive lineman Mason Neisen visited the Hawkeye Tailgater this past weekend.

After impressing the Iowa coaching staff at their camp this summer, in-state offensive lineman Mason Neisen continues to pick up more interest from the Hawkeyes. All of it could very well be leading to a scholarship offer soon for the 6-foot-5, 325-pound Neisen, who was back in Iowa City for the Hawkeye Tailgater this past weekend.

“Brian Ferentz said that a scholarship was coming,” said Neisen. “They just have to figure out where from. He said just to be patient and let him to his job. Reese Morgan also told me that him, Brian Ferentz, Kirk Ferentz, and Chris Doyle all really love me and want me on the team.”

The trip to Iowa City was Neisen’s second in the past few weeks as he continues to build on his relationship with the Iowa coaching staff. This time, it was a two-day stay with the Hawkeyes, which gave him an even deeper look at the university and the football program.

“The visit was awesome,” Neisen said. “We got tours of everything and an amazing academic presentation by Liz (Tovar). She is really a phenomenal person. Then we got to sit down with professors from our intended major and talk with them and ask questions and we got a tour of the new dorm building, which was way nice.”

“My personal favorite part was when Coach Doyle gave a presentation in the weight room,” he continued. “Whenever that man talks, I get chills. He just has such an amazing presence.”


As a junior, Neisen helped lead Denver to the Class A state semifinals for the second year in a row last season. His film shows a physical, dominating blocker, which is something he backed up at Iowa’s camp when he went head to head with other Division I prospects.

“The biggest worry about people like me is I come from a small town, so they want to see how I do against better competition,” said Neisen. “At camp, they said I did absolutely amazing. Not only in run blocking, but pass blocking too.”

Currently, Neisen holds a scholarship offer from UNI and has interest from Iowa State in addition to Iowa. While he is keeping an open mind about everything, the Class of 2017 prospect says an opportunity to play for the Hawkeyes would be a special one.

“I've been a Hawkeye fan since I was born,” Neisen said. “It's been a dream of mine forever.”

With the calendar turning to August, Neisen’s focus now turns to his senior season as he looks to lead Denver deep into the playoffs again, which is sure to help things on the recruiting front.

“Now I just worry about my senior season” Neisen said. “If I do that, the future will all work out.”

“I've put in a ton of off-season work and I think it will show on film.”

 

[David1979]

I like this kid. You can tell he wants to bury people when he is run blocking.

 

[NevadaHawk]

I like this kid. You can tell he wants to bury people when he is run blocking.

Mason looks like a solid player to me as well. I take he is in the 2017 class?

 

[Hawksofly101789]

Give that kid a scholarship he is massive!

 

[Blair Sanderson]

Mason looks like a solid player to me as well. I take he is in the 2017 class?

Yep, Class of 2017.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Big kid ... and he keeps his feet moving. A lot of big guys rely heavily upon their size advantage and have really slow and poor footwork. He needs to keep his pad level down more consistently ... but the feet and leg drive suggest that he has plenty of potential.

He also seems to enjoy "finishing" blocks ... that says something about attitude and physicality. Iowa obviously likes this latter attribute A LOT too.

The kid reminds me of a smaller-school version of Render ... could definitely develop into a good one.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

He's physical, he's big and he keeps his feet. You can work with that

 

[millhawk]

Big kid ... and he keeps his feet moving. A lot of big guys rely heavily upon their size advantage and have really slow and poor footwork. He needs to keep his pad level down more consistently ... but the feet and leg drive suggest that he has plenty of potential.

He also seems to enjoy "finishing" blocks ... that says something about attitude and physicality. Iowa obviously likes this latter attribute A LOT too.

The kid reminds me of a smaller-school version of Render ... could definitely develop into a good one.

Yes, his pad level can definitely improve but that's not uncommon for high school kids. If they can't find a schollie, I wonder would he take a greyshirt?

ghost, in other posts you seem to like Render quite a bit. Inside info? What have you heard on other young olinemen like the Paulsen's?

 

[OILCHECKER]

Yes, his pad level can definitely improve but that's not uncommon for high school kids. If they can't find a schollie, I wonder would he take a greyshirt?

ghost, in other posts you seem to like Render quite a bit. Inside info? What have you heard on other young olinemen like the Paulsen's?

I believe that Brian Ferentz said that Render was essentially our 6th OL at this point.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Yes, his pad level can definitely improve but that's not uncommon for high school kids. If they can't find a schollie, I wonder would he take a greyshirt?

ghost, in other posts you seem to like Render quite a bit. Inside info? What have you heard on other young olinemen like the Paulsen's?

First off, I don't want to mischaracterize my knowledge. I'm not privy to insider info these days. Years ago, parents of players used to PM me with inside info ... so I used to have inside connections that supplied good info. However, I dropped off the boards for a year or two ... and I now use a new handle.

Now, what info I have is typically from either watching games, reading anything and everything Hawkeye related, and keeping my ear firmly to the ground. I'm pretty good at discerning which posters actually know more than others ... and I pay more attention to those posters.

Anyhow, just as OILCHECKER indicated ... there's what Brian has said about Render. However, it also comes from watching who got playing time last year. Render was one of the first guys in after Daniels. IIRC, he also saw live game reps at both RT and OG. He also saw action in most games ... and that doesn't happen that often with guys who are just redshirt freshmen.

While the nature of a kids recruitment doesn't always indicate much ... it is worth noting that Render got a VERY early offer from the Hawks. They identified him very early and offered him early too.

As for the Paulsen's ... all I've heard is that folks in the program (players, employees, etc) are very impressed with how HUGE those guys are. Unfortunately, football fans tend to get too excited about the size of O-linemen. What is far more telling about how quickly they see the field is how quickly guys get down technique, how aggressively they play, and how consistently they can execute. To this latter end, all I've heard is that both the Paulsen boys have the right work ethic ... however, they both have plenty of work to do with regard to technique.

In all frankness, one of the guys who I had pegged to eventually be a big contributor was Newborg ... but I've heard/read absolute zippo about him. Like yourself, I'd like to learn more about some of these guys and find out how they're progressing in their development. However, at this current juncture, my knowledge is limited about them.