He came onto the scene late in 2024, but it appears Michigan could have a developing star in their secondary. Sophomore Mason Curtis is primed for a breakout in 2025:
There is an open spot in the Michigan Wolverines ’ secondary, and potentially two at the safety position depending on the health of Rod Moore to open the 2025 campaign. There are a couple of options to fill that role, but one of the favorites is sophomore Mason Curtis.
The story so far
Curtis was a key member of the 2024 class as a four-star recruit out of Nashville. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he was a versatile prospect that also played edge rusher and linebacker in high school.
Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines saw a future role for Curtis on their defense. The team took on the challenge, plugging him into three different positions throughout the spring and early fall to find what best suited him.
Usually, that would take a year or two for a young player to get settled and evolve into even hitting the rotation, but Curtis is different. He found a home as a defensive back and excelled quickly. By the end of September, he saw his first action in the win over Minnesota on special teams. Then, he played in every game the rest of the way. His first career interception happened in the win over Northwestern.
Michigan true freshman Mason Curtis with his first career interception! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/fnd6bYoXUD
— uofmcoverage (@uofmcoverage) November 23, 2024
After the win, Moore sang the true freshman’s praises.
“The crazy thing is he got on campus and we really didn’t know where we were going to play him,” Moore said . “He was 6’4”, 6’5”. He’s long. He’s like Spider-Man out there, just roaming the field. SAM, played SAM. He played receiver. He played D-end. He played safety in high school. He played all those positions in high school, so we’re trying to figure out where we best fit. He ended up with safety, and he’s just been unbelievable. He’s a tireless worker. Great human being, but he’s got a great skill set. He’s going to be really good.”
Curtis earned the team’s Rookie of the Year award for the defense.
Outlook for 2025
Wink Martindale started off this spring with an absolute banger of a comment about Curtis.
“The ball always finds (Curtis). Ty Law was that way. He’s one of those guys that just, the ball always finds him, cause he understands what his job is, he knows how to do it,” he said on In The Trenches . “And now he can see through studying where the quarterback is gonna throw the ball and he has the range and the athletic ability to go get it. And I’m excited to see where he’s gonna go from here.”
With comments like that, Curtis’ playing time should only go up in 2025. He will assuredly be a part of the rotation, and if his ascension continues as dramatically as it did in 2024, it will be tough to keep him off the field.
Curtis will be competing with a couple other impressive players like Rod Moore (if healthy) and Brandyn Hillman. Michigan also brought in Tevis Metcalf from the transfer portal, who will compete for playing time in this room as well. No matter where they turn, fans should feel confident the team is in a great spot at this position.