Mason Blaylock

Mason Blaylock
	Academic All-American at UW-Whitewater
No. 42 – New Orleans Second Line
Position:	Safety
Personal information
Born:	September 25, 2008 (aged 54); Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:	Madison East
College:	Wisconsin-Whitewater
ISFL Draft:	2034 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
DSFL Draft:	2033 / Round: 2 / Pick: 9
Career history
	New Orleans Second Line (2035 (S20)-present); Tijuana Luchadores (2034 (S19)); Kansas City Coyotes (2033 (S18));
Roster status:	Active

Mason Blaylock (born January 9, 2022) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Second Line of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He played college football for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater before being drafted by the Kansas City Coyotes in the 2033 DSFL Draft (S18). A contraction draft saw Mason move to Tijuana for his second season.

Early Years

Born and raised in Madison, Mason never left the state of Wisconsin until being drafted by the Coyotes. Growing up, Mason had an intense rivalry with his older brother Trent. Being multi-sport athletes, Trent and Mason were always pushing each other to get better every day. Mason often credits his brother for being the biggest influence in being successful. The Blaylock brothers had a ton of high school accolades, including winning the state championships in both football and tennis doubles. Not every sport had a happy ending though, as they were state runner-up in basketball Mason's sophomore and junior season. Sports weren't the only part of his early life, though. He was big into music and played various instruments. His most notable instrument was the french horn. Mason took a 1st at state solo and ensemble his junior and senior year of high school. He also participated in pit orchestra marching band. When it was time to decide where to go for college, he was very much undecided what he wanted to do. While tennis was his strongest sport, he felt his best opportunity would come by way of football. Being a 3 star recruit in Wisconsin, Mason found himself with various offers to play college football, but not many D1 schools came knocking. Not wanting to leave the state but not getting an officer from UW-Madison, Mason decided to take his talents to UW-Whitewater.

College Career

Mason didn't find the field much his freshman season. Whitewater had stars in every position, so underclassman rarely got starting roles. He get some garbage time minutes throughout the regular season, as the Warhawks ususally found themselves winning by 30+ points in the 4th quarter. In the final game of the regular season, Mason did have a 46 yard punt return for touchdown in a 56 point route over UW-River Falls. His sophomore season, he snagged the starting kick and punt return spots. He also found himself on the field when Whitewater was in certain nickel and dime packages. On a routine punt return in week 3 of the season, Mason awkwardly stumbled on a fair catch and torn his popliteus muscle in his knee. He would go on to miss the rest of the season. Working back from an injury, Mason had a slow start to his junior year. He had found himself at the top of the depth chart for FS, but was no longer returning kicks and punts. Frustrated and not sure what to do, Mason turned to his brother. They talked about it and decided it was time to go back to the basics. His diet was poor, his water intake was terrible and his workouts were not effective. Over the next month, Mason started feeling like himself again. In week 7 against UW-Stevens Point, Mason recorded 2 sacks and a forced fumble. A week later, he had another sack while adding an interception as well. He finished the regular season with 71 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 interceptions. Mason was able to force 3 more turnovers in the playoffs, including a notable 4th quarter interception that sealed their trip to the Stagg Bowl. In the Stagg Bowl, Mason registered 9 tackles, including a big 4th down tackle to kill the Raider's final drive. Whitewater beat Mount Union, with teammate WR Jake Kumerow getting MVP honors. In his senior season, Mason recevied All-American honors. He recorded 77 tackles, 6 sacks and 5 picks. He also had a punt return for touchdown and the most return yards in the WIAC. Whitewater rolled through everyone in the playoffs and won back-to-back Stagg Bowls.

College Career Statistics

Career statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions		Other					Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Total	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Safety	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2029	UWW	4	15	1	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	82	20.5	0	123	13.6	1
2030	UWW	3	10	0	10	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	2	25	0	84	12	0
2031	UWW	10	71	5	76	4	2	0	0	2	2	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2032	UWW	10	77	11	88	6	5	1	0	1	3	15	0	490	24.5	0	317	13.7	1

Professional Career

DSFL Career

In his rookie season, Mason was effective to say the least. His 110 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 4 sacks were highest among all Free Safeties. He also had 2 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries and an interception. In the return game, Mason finished third in return yards with 280. He was on pace to push for the Coyotes single season record for punt return yards, but had few opportunities for returns the last 4 games of the season. He was also the only player to have 2 punts returned for a touchdown that year, a Coyotes team record. The Coyotes as a team had mixed success, with the team having good and bad stretches. Starting off 1-3, they found themselves behind the 8 ball. They then went on to win 5 out of their next 6 games, thanks to good all around team play. They closed out the season losing 3 of their last 4 games. With not much momentum and on the road, the Coyotes fought an up-hill battle with a talented Pythons team. The Coyotes were down 28-3 and all looked hopeless. They did not roll over and die though, as they still made it a game. They found a way to get touchdowns on their next two drives while managing to slow down Portland's offense. Now down 28-17 with 7 minutes left in the 4th, the Coyotes defense got another big stop. With a decent return from Mason, they were set up inside the 50 and poised to makes things really interesting. The offense sputtered and came up short, turning things back over to the Pythons who ran out the clock.

With the DSFL facing lower numbers after his rookie season, the DSFL contracted the Coyotes and SeaWolves until numbers increased again. Mason saw himself go 2nd overall to the Luchadores, where he will play his second season in. In Mason's second season in the DSFL, you could see his comfort playing at that level. Once again, his special teams play is probably the thing that stood out the most. In his second week of the season, he broke a team record with a total of 130 yards returning punts. He also posted a touchdown return that game. He wound up 280 yards in only four games, which was on pace to absolutely shatter the previous league record. Things slowed down for Mason though. He wound up passing the team record for punt return yards in a season in his second to last game of the year. Heading into the final game, disaster struck for Mason. He only had one punt return all game and it went for negative return yardage, which resulted in him no longer holding the team record. At the end of the day, though, it didn't matter because the Luchadores were rolling. They finished the season with a league-best record of 11-3. Controlling home field advantage, Tijuana won a hard fought game over new division foe Myrtle Beach. The Buccaneers made some big plays defensively, but it wasn't enough and Tijuana rolled on to the championship. It what can only be described as the most bizarre game of the year, Tijuana fell to the Grey Ducks 16-13 to lose the Ultimini. The team's maxed out kicker, who had been automatic all season missed 2 moderately close field goals and an extra point. The team's maxed out running back only got a few touches all game and didn't pick up much for yardage. I think Mason finally earns the right to say sim gonna sim. Those two guys were team leaders all season, so no one could possibly blame them for the ways things played out. Just like they had all season, the defense made their fair share of plays. Mason himself had a 72 yard interception that brought the ball right to the Myrtle Beach goal line. His team would punch the ball in a couple plays later. They also forced 4 sacks and recovered 2 fumbles. In the end, it just wasn't quite enough. While the loss stings, it is likely that the Luchadores will be back sooner than later.

NSFL/ISFL Career

Rookie Season - S20

After playing two seasons in the DSFL, Mason finally got his opportunity in the NSFL. Expectations were moderately high for the rookie. His two fellow first round picks Mack Arianlacher and Austin McCormick had both been called up immediately after the draft instead of playing a second DSFL season. It looked like the season was moving too fast for Mason at times. There were some games where he would only record a couple tackles in a game. The way New Orleans utilized him was pretty straight forward. He played as a deep lying safety, responsible for not getting beat deep. As far as fitting the scheme, Blaylock did his role well. The Second Line gave up their fair share of passing yards, but were rarely beat for huge pass plays. Mason was able show flashes of speed and potential at different times. He recorded 5 sacks which was tied for most among all rookies wit S20 Tijuana teammate Kyle Idlewyld. The Second Line as a team had an above average season, but fell short of expectations. They finished the season at 7-6, good enough to claim second place in the ASFC. They played host to an Orange County Otter team that had also under-performed in the regular season. The game was a defensive struggle throughout and saw the Second Line come out on top 23-13. Mason had one of the quietest games of his season, posting only 1 tackle and 1 pass deflection. New Orleans forced 10 punts on the day as well. In the ASFC championship game, NOLA traveled to Austin to face a Copperheads team that did not get the credit they deserved. Even on the road, most people had the game as slightly in for of New Orleans. Austin was able to mostly slow down the strong Second Line run game. New Orleans was able to find a lot of success through the air, though. The story of the game was Austin's bend but don't break defense. They allowed 315 passing yards up, but only gave up 17 total points. New Orleans moved the ball down field quite well on most of their possessions, but the wheels fell off one too many times in their opponents' side of the field. The Copperheads won 26-17 and found themselves in the Ultimus against the Wraiths where they would go on to win it all.

Sophomore Season - S21

Mason's second season on the Second Line went similar to his first one, with a couple variations. In his rookie season, there were a lot of expectations placed on him. While some were internal, plenty were external as well. This season, though, individual expectations lowered while team expectations were at an all-time high. New Orleans came into season 21 looking to prove that they were the real deal. The season 20 loss to Austin in the conference championship was still fresh in their minds. Luckily for NOLA, they would not have to wait long to get their chance at revenge. In the first game of the season, NOLA hosted Austin in a great week 1 rematch. New Orleans got off to a slow start, trailing at the half. They came out of the locker room in the 3rd quarter looking to firmly set the tone for the rest of the season and they did just that. The Second Line proceeded to put up 24 points in the second half while only giving up 10, 7 of which came in the last couple minutes of the game. This game set the tone for what was to be for most of the season. New Orleans went on to beat San Jose, Arizona, Colorado, Orange County, San Jose again, Philadelphia, Austin again and Arizona again. Going 9-0 gave the season 21 Second Line the best start in franchise history. The team was looking unstoppable and people started including their name among the league's all-time best teams. The last 4 games did not go as planned, though. They proceeded to lose the next 3 games by a combined 8 points. While those three teams would all go on to play in the conference championships, it was still a tough pill to swallow for a team that seemed unbeatable. In the final game of the season, the Second Line traveled to Chicago to close out the season. Road games are always tough, but it felt like a winnable one and almost verging on must-win territory to get their mojo back. Instead, the Butchers put a beating down on New Orleans, handing them a 17 point loss and deflating feeling to go along with it. A team that started off on record pace now found themselves in the wildcard game and not longer in control of the conference. The Second Line hosted their now rival Copperheads in what promised to be a slug fest. The game lived up to expectations, as both teams were flying around the field all game. New Orleans got out to a 23-10 lead and things appeared to be in hand, but Austin didn't roll over. They were able to march down field and get a touchdown with just over a minute left. They were unable to get the onside kick, allowing New Orleans to run out the clock. Both offensives combined for 865 yards, but were held to 4 fields goals and a combined 40 points. Both defenses were bend but don't break ultimately. In the ASFC championship, NOLA traveled to a hot Orange County team. With the Second Line going on a 4 game skid, the Otters were able to fully take advantage of that opportunity and claimed the top spot in the ASFC. Like the previous playoff game, New Orleans got off to a fast start leading 17-3 at half. Also like before, the opposition came back. Orange County scored 14 straight to tie things up at 17. New Orleans promptly got the ball back and scored themselves, giving them a 24-17 lead with just 7 minutes to go. Orange County got the ball back and went on a lengthy 6 minute drive, scoring with 1 minute left to go. With the game heading into overtime, New Orleans got the ball and drove down field. They were stopped for a 4th and 2nd and elected to kick a 46 yard field goal. Orange County, with the ball and once last chance, marched right back at them. Orange County seemed poised to either tie the game up or win it all. They crossed midfield, but then things slowed down. An incomplete pass and a 6 yard game lead to a critical 3rd down. Armstrong stepped back in a five step drop, looking for Blaze over the middle for a first down that would put them in field goal range at the least. Mason was sent on a safety blitz from the corner. New Orleans called a stunt where Mack started on the edge and cut in, while Bjorn edged around at the right tackle. This gave Blaylock a clear path to Armstrong and brought him down. Now out of field goal range, the Otters went for it on 4th but the pass fell wide of Kurisuto and New Orleans claimed the ASFC championship. In the Ultimus, NOLA squared up against the Yellowknife Wraiths. the Wraiths have perennially been a top team in the league, though they tend to come up just short of winning it all. While this Wraiths team didn't have their best record like seasons prior, they still made it to the Ultimus and could not be counted out. Like the other playoff games before, New Orleans started off on fire. By the end of the 3rd quarter, NOLA was up big 26-3. Unlike the other 2 playoff games, though, there was no close come back. The Second Line won by a final score of 33-11. Everything fell into place and New Orleans was able to stay a perfect 3-0 in Ultimus games as a franchise. With the likes of Slothface, Ironside and Faux retiring, along with Arianlacher and Andrews getting picked up in the expansion draft, New Orleans will have a tough task trying to replicate what became of the most dominant defenses in the league.

Third Season - S22

After coming off a championship season, NOLA was looking to defend their title. On an individual level, things really started to click for Mason in his third season. Statistically speaking, he had what could be considered his best year in the pros yet. Blaylock had a personal best in tackles, interceptions, touchdowns, pass deflections and had his first taste of kick returns in season 22. You wouldn't have had any idea that Blaylock had not returned a kick in an actual game setting for over 2 years. He seamlessly slid next to teammate Forrest Gump, one of the best returners the league has seen. Defensively, things looked really good. He was one sack away from matching his rookie season mark of 5. The only real dip came from a lack of forcing any fumbles, as this was the first year in Mason's career where he did not force at least 1 fumble at any level. Still, it isn't always feasible to improve in every single regard in a season. Second Line supporters would be the first to tell you that Blaylock is developing as well as they could have hoped for. He is looking like a potential All-Pro safety and should continue to play at that level for a very long time. He was selected to be on Team USA, the first year that any such team had been formed. Two other honors were bestowed on him, as he made the Prob Bowl and also earned his first ever Safety of the year. New Orleans as a team was a mixed bag though. They finished 8-5, claiming the final playoff spot in the ASFC. NOLA was streaky at times this season. They had a bad run of games early, going 1-3 at one stretch. This was then followed by winning 4 straight. The last 4 games on the season were not as hot, going 2-2 and sneaking into the playoffs. There was a three-way race for the final two spots between Austin, San Jose and New Orleans. Austin beat San Jose, claiming the #2 spot while NOLA finished off Honolulu to punch their ticket. In the first round of the playoffs, the Second Line traveled to Austin in what has turned into a real rivalry. The game was back and forth the whole way through. Tied with less than 5 minutes in the game, Austin scored to go up 34-27. NOLA was unable to match and lost. Stats were quite equal, with NOLA edging out in yards and time of possession among other things. The biggest difference besides the score were penalties, as the Second Line had 5 to just 1 for Austin. It's hard to come down on a team who has made the playoffs the last three seasons in the highly competitive ASFC. Making a conference championship after a playoff drought, followed by winning the Ultimini the next season, then making the playoffs yet again in season 22. There is nothing to be ashamed of there. Still, there is a feeling that New Orleans is capable of more. New Orleans has a young and quite stacked secondary with other young pieces all over the defense. This team is poised to be elite for seasons to come yet.

Fourth Season - S23

In what would become the final season for the league being known as the NSFL, Mason Blaylock had himself a season. Mason's 4th season in the big league saw quite a few changes to it. The league shifted to a 16 game schedule for one. This lead to most players posting career high numbers across the board and Mason was no exception. Blaylock had more tackles, sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles, pass deflections, kick return yards and kick return touchdowns than any other season. He also tied for fumbles recovered. The part that is more impressive is the efficiency, though. These numbers were increasing just because there were more games played. They increased because Mason just played that much better. One of the biggest milestones for him including have a 10+ sacks and 5 interception season. He is the first player in the modern era to achieve such a feat. He is also the first player to do it as a safety playing in position. Most safeties that have also had similar result were playing at linebacker. This was not the only point to brag about for Mason. He earned Pro Bowl honors at both safety and returner, with the former being a unanimous selection. He also earned his second straight Safety of the Year award. Other accolades were mentioning are finishing 2nd for Returner of the year, 2nd for Defensive Player of the year, finalist for Defensive Performance of the year and finalist for league MVP. To be mentioned as one of the most valuable players in the league is perhaps the biggest honor of all. Rarely if ever does a defensive player find their way into contention for such an honor. As for NOLA itself, it felt like another average season. The squad came in second in the ASFC behind the might Orange County Otters once again. The team finished at 9-7 and secured playoff football for yet another season. That feat alone is something to tip your cap at. The ASFC had four out of six teams finishing at .500 or better and a fifth team just a game away from that mark. The whole league was actually quite competitive, with five from the NSFC as well. Certain numbers don't jump out for New Orleans as a whole, allowing more points then they scored on the season. That can be answered in a couple of ways. The first is that most of their wins were in close games. That is not a knock, but rather a fact. A couple of specific losses came in blowouts, throwing off points for and against. The other thing that plagued NOLA again was how streaky the team was. The team would win three games, then follow it up with 2 losses. Win 4 more games, lose the last four out of six. Limping into the playoffs, the Second Line faced familiar foe the Austin Copperheads. To no one's surprise, the game was a slug fest. NOLA freely moved down field all game, but slowed down every time once they got within scoring range. All 15 of the team's points came from field goals and they had six attempts on the day. It was frustrating to see the team get so close, yet not be able to capitalize.

Fifth Season - S24

After such a dominant last couple of seasons, Mason did take a small step back in season 24. To say he took a step back is a bit tongue in cheek, as he still performed at a high level. Season 24 had a weird vibe to it. There were a ton of talks about the next expansion coming and with that a lot of change would come about. The last time expansion was almost a certainty, the New Orleans Second Line when on to win the Utlimus. Would the same hold true in Season 24? Sadly, the answer is no. The team did a lot of things well, flashing one of the better defenses in the league once again. A hot start got New Orleans off to a 3-0 start, showing they meant business. A couple of difficult games lead to two quick losses, but things look up again and the Second Line won another 3 straight. They were now sitting at 6-2 and looking like the team to beat in the ASFC. The second half of the season would prove to be a lot to overcome. The team went just 3-5 over the last half of the season, losing to division rivals Orange County, Arizona and San Jose. The real craziness ensued in the final league table. 4 teams in the ASFC finished with a 9-7 record, with the standings listing the order as San Jose, Orange County, Arizona then New Orleans. With us losing the final game at San Jose and seeing the standings, it appeared that we were the odd team out for playoffs. Thankfully the way the tie breakers shook out, we got the final spot to make the wild card game. The ASFC was insanely competitive in Season 24, with Honolulu and Austin going 8-8 and 7-9 respectfully. There were no bottom feeder teams in this conference and every win was earned. In the quarterfinals, NOLA travelled to familiar foe in the Otters. Orange County jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, one in which they would hang onto the rest of the way. New Orleans didn't roll over, though. The closest the game would come was on a third quarter touchdown for the Second Line. Ed Barker ran in a 24 yard pass from Ben Slothlisberger. Trailing only by 3 with well over a quarter left, there was plenty of time to complete the comeback. It was never meant to be, though. The offense struggled to gain yardage and the defense let OCO score a touchdown half way through the 4th on a long, momentum-killing drive. New Orleans has struggled in the playoffs the last couple of years, but things are still bright. They have one of the most promising QBs in the league and still a top 5 defense. These days, that's a lot more than other teams can claim.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.30 s	4.10 s	7.05 s	28.9 in (0.73 m)	130 ft 8 in (39.83 m)	12 reps	12
Season 18 DSFL Draft Combine

Professional Career Statistics

Career statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions		Other					Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Total	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Safety	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2033 (S18)	Coyotes	14	110	6	116	4	1	0	0	2	3	3	0	419	16.8	0	280	11.7	2
2034 (S19)	Luchadores	14	76	0	76	4	3	0	0	2	3	3	0	457	19.9	0	382	9.8	1
2035 (S20)	Second Line	13	63	0	63	5	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2036 (S21)	Second Line	13	64	0	64	4	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2037 (S22)	Second Line	13	76	0	76	4	3	1	0	0	0	3	0	690	26.5	0	0	0	0
2038 (S23)	Second Line	16	102	0	102	11	5	0	0	2	1	7	0	1241	30.3	1	0	0	0
2039 (S24)	Second Line	16	70	1	71	8	3	0	0	2	2	6	0	1006	27.2	0	0	0	0
2040 (S25)	Second Line	16	87	0	87	7	5	0	0	3	3	11	0	1361	32.4	1	0	0	0

Playoff Career Statistics

Career statistics			Tackles			Sacks	Interceptions		Other					Kick Returns			Punt Returns
Season	Team	Games	Reg	TFL	Total	Sack	Int	IntTD	DefTD	FFum	FRec	PD	Safety	Yds	Avg	KR TD	Yds	Avg	PR TD
2033 (S18)	Coyotes	1	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	9	0	12	12	0
2034 (S19)	Luchadores	2	14	0	14	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	56	14	0	94	18.8	1
2035 (S20)	Second Line	2	6	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2036 (S21)	Second Line	3	15	0	15	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2037 (S22)	Second Line	1	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	12.3	0	0	0	0
2038 (S23)	Second Line	1	3	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	86	43	0	0	0	0
2039 (S24)	Second Line	1	8	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	77	25.7	0	0	0	0