Mason Gillion

Mason Gillion

Mason Gillion CB
No. 21 – Tijuana Luchadores
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(2019-08-06)August 6, 2019 (aged 41) Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	195 lb (88 kg)
Username:	Emper0r
Career information
High school:	Green Bay North
College:	Wisconsin
ISFL Draft:	2040  / Round: 5 / Pick: 62
DSFL Draft:	2039  / Round: 12 / Pick: 92
Career history
Tijuana Luchadores (2039 (S24))
Roster status:	Retired
Career highlights and awards
Tied for DSFL leader in defensive TDs (2) (2040 (S25))
Career DSFL statistics
Total tackles: 38 Tackles for loss: 0 Pass deflections: 8 Interceptions: 3 Forced fumbles: 0 Fumble recoveries: 0 Total touchdowns: 2

Mason Gillion (born August 6, 2019) was an American football cornerback for the Tijuana Luchadores of the Developmental Simulation Football League (DSFL).

Early years

Mason was born in Green Bay Wisconsin in 2019 to Andrew and Carrie Gillion. He was the first of three children. He grew up playing guitar and watching football. His father was a guitar virtuoso and Mason was taught very early on in his life guitar. He always had a passion for football but in his early years didn't possess the size, speed, or strength to play. He played football in 7th grade but never saw the field. Height was a major issue because he just wasn't big enough as the other kids and got tossed around on the field. He quit playing football to focus on playing guitar because it doesn't matter what size you are to play guitar. He enjoyed playing guitar but wanted to do something different than his dad because he would always be in his shadow.

The summer of his JR year he gained 20lbs and grew 5 inches giving him the confidence to try and play again. His love of the game never diminished and now that. He had the size to play Football he needed to give it another shot.

He impressed the coaches with his knowledge of the game and basic technic and earned himself a spot on the team and eventually starting cornerback. He had a knack for finding the endzone with 6 pick-sixes and 2 punt returns for TDs in high school. He never was the fastest or strongest player but if the ball hit his hands he picked it off. He was very good at reading routes and blanketing WR. He ended up playing WR when the team needed to but his passion was always Cornerback.

Major college teams were concerned about his limited experience and didn't want to give a scholarship to someone who only had played 2 years in high school and he was underweight at 170 pounds.

College career

Mason wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school. A few division 2 schools scouted him and offered him scholarships but he wanted to try his luck at a Division q school. He came to Wisconsin as a walk-on Freshman. He didn't see any playing time his first two seasons but eventually made his way to special teams.

He was on the bench his first 3 years and after a few injuries he eventually made in on the field in dime situations. Over the last year of college, he had 6 interceptions and 4 returned for TDs. His lack of strength and speed limited his playing time which helped him make big plays while on the field because he was never tired.

DSFL

In his first season in the DSFL Gillion was buried in the depth chart due to his lack of experience. He worked very hard and was elevated to Nickel cornerback. He made the most of his limited playing time with 3 ints and two of them returned for TDs. All 3 of his INTs came late in the game. He had 38 tackles and 7 PD. He was a part-time player a majority of the season but proved his worth and made the most of his time on the field.

His biggest play of the season was when Tijuana was playing Norfolk. Late in the 3rd quarter with Tijuana leading by 16 - 13 Gillion made an interception and returned it 35 yards for a TD. That turned out to be the last score of the game. After the game, Gillion said "I'm finally glad I was able to make an impact to help my team win". "All the film study paid off because I knew what played was called and I just had to jump the route and the rest was history."

Gillion earned the DSFL top defensive performance of the week in week 10

Week 10, Mason Gillion (R) - CB (TIJ): 4 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD

He also earned the following:

Week 7 Defensive POG: Mason Gillion (R) - CB (TIJ): 2 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD

Along with week 10.

In the final regular-season game and playoff game Tijuana played in their base defense and Gillion did not see the field in either game. When asked about it his response was "I'm disappointed I couldn't help my team win, but I'm going to work my ass off and make sure that they can't afford to keep me off the field next season."

Gillion is currently one defensive TD away from tying the Tijuana Luchadores team record of 3 defensive TDs.

He is also 81 intercepted return yard away from the Tijuana Luchadores team record.

ISFL

He was drafted by the Arizona Outlaws in round 5 pick 6 (62 overall) of the season 25 ISFL draft. He was the 10th cornerback taken in the ISFL draft. When asked about this Gillion said " Arizona got the steal of the draft with me in the 5th round. I'm definitely better than a lot of the guys drafted ahead of me and those teams will regret not drafting me." He agreed to return to the DSFL for at least one more season. Gillion said about the DSFL "we should have won the championship last year and I would love to come back to Tijuana because we have unfinished business." Gillion also said "I prefer going back to the DSFL for one more season to work on my speed and tackling before I hit the ISFL. I want Arizona to have an instant starting cornerback when they call me up, not a bench warmer."

Defensive stats

Career statistics			Defense
Season	Team	Games	Tck	TFL	FF/FR	Sck	Int	PD	Sfty	TD	Blk P/XP/FG
2039 (S24)	Luchadores	14	38	0	0/0	0	3	7	0	2	0/0/0

Predraft Measurables

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.4 s	4.19 s	7.3 s	32 in (0.81 m)	1 ft 0 in (0.30 m)	19 reps	36