Sleeper Georgia ATH picks Mizzou

Just a day before National Signing Day, Missouri gained the commitment of a sleeper athlete from one of the bigger talent-producing schools in Georgia.

Grayson High School head coach Mickey Conn confirmed to PowerMizzou.com that athlete Dimetrios Mason has committed to Missouri.

Mason had ten offers, which included Indiana, Georgia State, Central Michigan and Marshall. He was receiving interest from Michigan and Kentucky, and Missouri offered him on Tuesday.

"This one kind of came out of the blue," Conn said. "They've been recruiting him, and then they offered him today."

Before Missouri offered, Mason said he thought he would have probably gone to South Alabama -- a school he quietly committed to. But he waited on Missouri.

"Throughout the year, I knew they were looking at me," Mason said. "I was really just gonna hope and pray that I would get an offer from them. Throughout the year, I kept playing as hard as I could, doing what I do. It didn't come when I thought it would come, but I kept praying about it and waiting and waiting and waiting."

That waiting lasted until the day before National Signing Day.

"I met the coach (Ryan Walters) a couple weeks ago, talked to him a little bit, and he was saying he really liked me but he was going to talk to the other coaches," Mason said. "Let them see if they agreed with him. And then they offered me today and I committed."

Mason committed to Missouri sight unseen. He's yet to visit Columbia. Yet even despite that uncertainty, it didn't diminish Mason's excitement. He said he couldn't "talk or even move" when he got the offer.

"I feel like I can be successful anywhere I go," Mason said. "I feel like God has me here for a reason and God brought me the offer at the last minute for a reason, too, and I know that, like I said, I was praying hard about it. God has a plan for me, and I can't say what's going to happen to me when I go there, but I'm going to work as hard as I can.

"All I can say is thank God."

Mason played cornerback and wide receiver for Grayson. Missouri is recruiting him at both positions. At this point, he's unsure where he will begin, but thinks he could excel at either position.

His coach agrees with him.

"He's unbelievable," Conn said. "Very explosive, fast. Just a dynamite player."

Mason has also been a dynamic kick returner for Grayson, and he thinks that could continue in college.

"Whenever I get the ball in my hands, I try to make something out of it," Mason said.

On his HUDL profile, Mason is listed as having a 4.25-second 40. He said speed is his best strength, but the fastest 40 he ran came at North Carolina, and was in the low 4.3s.

Mason is Missouri's 18th-known commitment for 2016. He is a 5.4 2-star recruit, according to Rivals.com.