Speaking in a low rumble, William Mason described the quality that could end up pushing his son Jordan up the 49ers’ depth chart.
“Where I’m from, you either want it or you don’t,” Mason said in a recent phone interview. “My thing with him was always, ‘When practice is over, it ain’t over.’ It’s the ones that stay after practice and work before practice that really want it.”
Toward that end, William and Jordan, along with younger son James, took to the field this summer in Gallatin, Tennessee with a $3,000 JUGS machine. Jordan bought it and his father, towel wrapped around his head, fired footballs at Jordan and his brother in the Southern heat and humidity.
Mason, who got off to a rocky start with longtime running backs coach Bobby Turner as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, has followed the lead of teammate Christian McCaffrey to the point that he’s concerned last year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year might get sick of answering his questions.
The JUGS machine, purchased to improve a perceived weakness, was part of it.
“I was like, ‘If I want to be something, or something close to Christian, I’ve got to start catching something,” Jordan Mason said. “That was me investing in myself. I bought that machine. I had my dad out there, he’s sweating and shooting the JUGS at me and I’m running routes. We had a fun time with it this summer.”
The Masons will be together in their home state Saturday night when they visit the Tennessee Titans Saturday night (4 p.m. PT) in Nashville, 29 miles away from their hometown of Gallatin.
The name-calling will get confusing. Born Jordan Ponchez Mason, he’s called ‘Chez’ by his father. Some high school baseball teammates call him “Ponchez” or by his initials “J.P.,” which is how most of his 49ers teammates refer to him. He’s listed as “Jordan” on the roster and Mason’s mother Ulanda calls him “Bubba.”
By any name, Mason is a 5-foot-11, 223-pound heavy-legged runner who is currently the 49ers’ lead back because of injuries to McCaffrey (calf strain) and Elijah Mitchell (hamstring strain). Even when McCaffrey returns, Mason could find himself with a more substantial role if coach Kyle Shanahan makes good on his promise to dial back McCaffrey’s use in between the tackles to promote the longevity of the 49ers’ most versatile offensive player.
Asked to describe his running style, Jordan called himself “just an angry dude running, full of steam, trying to get first downs and then touchdowns.”
Mason made the 49ers as an undrafted free agent and in two seasons has 464 yards on 83 carries, average of 5.6 yards per attempt, and four touchdowns. His clock-killing ability at the end of games caused McCaffrey to dub him “Mariano Rivera” after the Yankees’ Hall of Fame closer.
As Jordan went through youth football and at Gallatin High, he eschewed personal trainers and myriad football camps. Instead, he followed his father’s lead, and was named the the Sumner County Player of the Year after gaining 2,050 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns as a senior.
“Since I was a little boy, he’s always set me up for success,” Jordan said. “It’s really all him, man.”
Actually, Jordan did attend one seven-on-seven camp and never wanted to go back.
“He dominated it, but he said, ‘Pops, this ain’t football,’” William said. “He didn’t want to be judged by running around cones. His thing was, ‘How can you judge a football player without contact?’ “
Accustomed to the no-nonsense approach of his father, Jordan’s adjustment to Turner, the venerable running backs coach, took some time. Turner is an initial shock to the system and and acquired taste within the position group.
Quarterbacks coach Brian Griese was a rookie with the Denver Broncos in 1998 when Turner was the running backs coach for Mike Shanahan.
“I would think, ‘Thank God he’s not my coach’ because he’s constantly on guys and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I could deal with that,’” Griese said.
As McCaffrey put it in a recent NFL Network interview: “There’s no one exempt from getting your butt ripped. He doesn’t care who you are. He doesn’t care what you’ve done.”
So Turner’s blunt approach wasn’t something Jordan was prepared for when he arrived as an undrafted rookie after gaining 2,349 in four college seasons.
“I had to learn his style,” Jordan said. “It just took me growing up and getting in the system. He’s an old-school coach, and you’ve got to do things a certain way. I had to switch up.”
Turner makes no apologies.
“He needed to grow up. He needed to become a pro,” Turner said. “I’m very detailed and demanding, not that other coaches aren’t. I want not only the answer, but the correct answer.”
Shanahan swears by Turner and his ability to get results.
“Bobby’s going to be Bobby, regardless,” Shanahan said. “He has a standard and demands a lot. I don’t know if that comes off the right way to every single person. But I think when you’re consistent each day and people realize you’re a good coach, you don’t care about that style. You just respect that they’re making you better.”
William Mason said Jordan never talked to him about the rough patch with Turner, although he could sense there were issues.
“He’s never been corrected or coached in a certain way like that,” William said. “And in his mindset, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But just because it ain’t broke don’t mean it can’t get better.”
Jordan eventually did what so many other running backs have done over the years. He focused on what Turner was saying more than how he was saying it.
“I’m a good student in the classroom now,” Jordan said.
The JUGS machine has made a difference, as has been apparent during training camp practices where Mason has looked smooth as a receiver out of the backfield. He also stepped up in practice Tuesday and laid a crushing block on a blitzing Fred Warner in pass protection.
“J.P. looks great. He’s on top of his stuff,” Purdy said. “When he gets out for a checkdown he’s where he’s supposed to be. He’s got great hands. He’s a guy we’ve trusted in the past, but even more so now.”
McCaffrey, who doesn’t seem to mind Jordan’s questioning, said: “He’s improved so much since the first time I met him. The way he is in meetings, the way he is out at practice.”
It’s gotten to the point where Mason’s “Mariano Rivera” duties could be expanded.
“He looks way more complete,” McCaffrey said. “I think he can pitch every inning now.”
