Mason To Coach UW Receivers
January 11, 2006 | Football
Henry Mason, wide receivers coach at Wisconsin since 1995, has been named an assistant football coach, new Badger head coach Bret Bielema announced Wednesday.
Mason will continue to tutor the UW receiving corps. Mason had to re-apply for a position on the staff after Bielema took over for recently retired head coach Barry Alvarez after the 2005 season.
'The Wisconsin football program is very fortunate to have a quality coach, as well as a tremendous person, like Henry,' Bielema said. 'You only have to look in the NFL at former Badger receivers like Lee Evans, Chris Chambers, Donald Hayes and Tony Simmons to understand the job Henry has done at Wisconsin. He's a terrific coach and excellent recruiter. I am very pleased to have him on our staff.'
Mason came to Wisconsin in 1995 after a four-year stint at Western Michigan. Despite Wisconsin's well-deserved reputation for producing great running backs, Mason has himself coached some of the top offensive talents the Badgers have ever had.
In the mid-1990s, Mason coached Tony Simmons and Donald Hayes. That pair currently ranks fifth and ninth, respectively, on the Badgers' career receiving yardage lists. Simmons is second in career touchdown receptions (23) and still holds the school record with a 20.1-yards-per-reception average for his career. Simmons was a second-round draft choice of the New England Patriots in 1998 and played four seasons in the NFL. Hayes was a fourth-round selection of the Carolina Panthers in 1998 and played five years in the NFL. In the late 1990s, Mason also coached Ahmad Merritt, who signed in the NFL as a free agent and played three seasons for the Chicago Bears.
Mason also recruited and coached two of the greatest receivers in Wisconsin history: Chris Chambers and Lee Evans, both of whom attended Bedford (Ohio) High School. Chambers played at Wisconsin from 1997-2000 and currently is fourth on the school 's all-time receiving yardage (2,004) and receptions (127) lists. He was a second-round draft choice of the Miami Dolphins in 2001. He led all NFL rookies in receiving yards and receiving TDs in 2001 and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl this February. Evans played for the Badgers from 1999-2003 and is the school record holder for career receiving yards (3,468) and receiving touchdowns (27). He registered a Big Ten-record 1,545 receiving yards and was a Biletnikoff Award finalist and first-team All-American in 2001. Evans was a first-round draft choice (13th overall) of the Buffalo Bills in 2004. He has 16 TD receptions in his first two pro seasons.
In more recent years, Mason has tutored wide receivers Brandon Williams and Jonathan Orr, both of whom played for the Badgers from 2002-05. Williams was a second-team All-American in 2005 and owns the Wisconsin record for career pass receptions with 202 and is second on the school's career list for receiving yardage with 2,924. Orr sits among the top 10 in four different career Wisconsin receiving categories, including being tied for third in TD receptions with 19.
The 49-year-old Mason was on the staff of the Badgers' 1998 and 1999 Big Ten championship teams and has coached in nine bowl games at Wisconsin. A 1979 graduate of Central Missouri State, Mason lettered in football and baseball, was drafted by the Baltimore Colts and played one season with the St. Louis Cardinals. His wife's name is Debbie.
