Hutson Mason - under the radar (and microscope)

Weiszer asks the question that has been echoed over and over this week in Hoover. Murray, McCarron, Mettenberger, and Manziel are all gone. Ole Miss' Bo Wallace is the returning SEC quarterback with the most starts. Auburn's Nick Marshall starts the 2014 campaign with new bling. Mississippi State's Dak Prescott is a sexy mention in the conversation and, of course, Jeff Driskel has been reborn as the next great signal caller down in the swamp. As far as I can tell the one thing they have in common, other than landscape, is that they are all returning starters.

They also are on the ballot for preseason All-SEC. The other two on the list are Missouri's Maty Mauk and South Carolina's Dylan Thompson.

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Hutson Mason is officially under the radar folks. And he's there despite having a higher passer rating than both Mauk and Thompson. He's there despite throwing for more yards per game than Marshall. And don't get me started on Arkansas' Brandon Allen and his 109 rating and 49% completion percentage.

Anyway, all of that is only meant to set the table. I doubt Mason is upset at any apparent snub. Preseason honors aren't even worth the words used to talk about them on air. What matters is the Saturdays this fall; tackle football starts in 45 days and that is when SEC quarterbacks either make history or go back to the sideline to send in the signals.

No, I just wanted to set the table for taking a closer look at Hutson Mason and what he can bring to the field in 2014. Some Georgia fans still don't think Mason will be the starter. The rest of us that are functioning in reality have questions about what to expect, even after seeing Mason close out the 2013 season.

I've got the last few games of the 2013 season in the queue and really would like to focus on what our fifth year senior quarterback has to offer. This afternoon I'll start with the Kentucky game and compile stats, thoughts, and some other mild-mannered analysis. Loosely what I'm looking for is pocket presence, tendencies, pace, where completions were and where incompletions were.

I've gone on record as saying that the Gator Bowl was not a fair measure of Mason's skills given the weather as well as Conley's injury. For a fifth year senior with so many weapons around him, we owe it to ourselves to look into what Mason can bring to the huddle.

Even if the SEC isn't ready to do that.