Last Monday, Penn football freshman kicker Mason Walters did not know if he was making the trip to Stonehill for the team’s season opener. This Monday, he was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week.
After surrendering a 14-point lead on Saturday, Penn found itself in a 21-21 tie late in the fourth quarter. The Quakers drove into the Skyhawks’ territory before stalling out at the 28-yard line, forcing Penn coach Ray Priore to make a decision: Stick with senior kicker Sam Smith or turn to the unproven freshman with the big leg.
Priore consulted with special teams coordinator Rick Ulrich. “Let’s go with Walters,” they agreed. They called him over.
“You gonna hit this?” Ulrich asked.
“Yes,” Walters said.
“OK, let’s go do it.”
Walters set up for a 45-yard kick from the left hash mark. The ball was snapped and placed. The freshman took one step, took another, cocked his right leg, and followed through. As the referees signaled the kick was good, Walters was already being mobbed by his teammates.
“He didn’t have much time to think; [he] went out there and just stroked it,” Priore said. “He hit that like a driver right down the fairway.”
The Ivy League bars freshmen from participating in summer workouts, so Walters arrived on campus just over five weeks ago. In more ways than one, he’s still getting used to life at Penn.
“My first midterm is next week. I’m preparing. I’m actually gonna start studying for that tonight,” Walters said with a smile after practice on Tuesday. “It’s funny that I played my first game before my first test. You hit the ground running [at Penn].”
Before Walters was hitting big-time kicks for the Quakers, he was doing the same at an even higher level — the fields of elevated altitude in his hometown of Littleton, Colo.
“I was always interested in it,” Walters said of kicking. “When I was six, I’d watch football on TV and be like, ‘That looks super fun.’”
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“I started learning how to [kick] when I was nine, [but] I didn’t start playing football until high school,” Walters added. “Everyone I talked to said to keep playing soccer, keep developing athleticism, play a sport that uses your feet. [Once] I got to high school, I started really honing in on [kicking] more.”
A three-sport star at Valor Christian High School, Walters also played soccer and volleyball while rewriting the football program’s record book. He holds the records for the two longest field goals in Eagles history, 55 and 51 yards, and made his first foray into clutch kicking along the way.
During Walters’ sophomore year, Valor Christian faced a three-score deficit in the fourth quarter of its homecoming clash with rival Ralston Valley. Then, after the Eagles scored on consecutive drives to bring the score within a touchdown, it was time for an unknown kickoff specialist to seal the deal.
For the first in-game onside kick of his career, Walters did not hesitate, delivering a pinpoint boot that was recovered by Valor Christian. The Eagles went on to win 27-23.
“It was another situation where [coaches] said: ‘OK, we need you,’” Walters said. “I just went out there, watched, let one go. … You [don’t] really have time to think. You just go out there and execute.”
Penn sophomore defensive lineman Alex Jordan was on that Valor Christian team and said he and Walters still discuss the kick to this day.
“There’s not a lot of Colorado guys that come out here, and it’s been cool to watch [Walters] grow into the player he is today,” Jordan said. “I was telling all my friends ever since he showed up how good he is, and I’m glad they [all] finally got to see it.”
Walters’ teammates — old and new — have served as valuable resources as he adjusts to both college life and college football. When Walters needed to know what to pack for his dorm, he asked Jordan. When he wasn’t sure what to bring for his first away game, he asked Smith.
“I would have looked like a lost puppy, but because of [the kicking room], I don’t feel like one as much,” Walters said. “Before the game — it’s my first time traveling — I’m [asking] the group chat, ‘Where am I supposed to be? When am I supposed to be there?’”
Priore has long employed a two-kick approach: one for short-range field goals and one for longer attempts. He and Ulrich said the plan for the position will change week to week, so there’s no telling when Walters will get his next call.
But if you ask the freshman, Saturday was only the beginning.
“I just got here. There’s still work to do. I’m here for the next four years, so [I] can’t focus on what happened this week.”
