Osa Masina conquering entire football field for Brighton

Cottonwood Heights, Utah — Sometimes, it helps to be a jack of all trades. Especially when you prove you are a master of all of those trades.

Osa Masina certainly fits that mold for Brighton (Salt Lake City) on the football field. He spends practically every minute out on the field during a typical game.

The 6-foot-4, 210 lb. junior starts at inside linebacker. He also sees playing time at tailback, slot receiver or wildcat quarterback on offense, depending on the play. If that isn't enough, he also returns punts and kickoffs for the Bengals. His coaches have left no stone unturned in using every last ounce of Masina's talent and athleticism to help Brighton win games.

"They just tell me where to go and I just try to do my best at that position," Masina said. "I go wherever I can help the team out."



Masina has not wasted a minute of that extra playing time. He makes a major impact in all three phases of the game. As a sophomore last season, Masina made 37 tackles at inside linebacker. On the other side of the ball, he rushed for 706 yards and nine touchdowns on 108 carries. Masina also accounted for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 9-of-13 passing as a wildcat quarterback.

His performance in a season opening 41-28 victory over American Fork last week offered promise of even greater impact as a junior. Masina rushed for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 19 carries. He returned three kickoffs for a total of 67 yards. Defensively, he had two solo tackles, two assisted tackles and one tackle for loss.

"Any team in the state would love to have that kid on their team," Brighton coach Ryan Bullet said. "He's physical. He's fast. He's athletic. There's stuff in there you can't teach at all. He just has that gift."

His speed, versatility and tireless work ethic make Masina an athlete who can be plugged in wherever the Bengals need him. Bullet said Masina never takes a play off, and that attitude rubs off on his teammates.

It's also the sort of attitude that makes him such a dangerous defensive player.

"The other team needs to know where he's at or he's going to be in their backfield," Bullet said.



A host of major colleges are drooling over the prospect of bringing Masina into their program.

The Brighton standout is the top rated prospect from Utah in the 2015 class according to 247Sports, where he also ranks among the top 250 athletes nationally. Masina has already received scholarship offers from Michigan, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Washington, Stanford, UCLA, Oregon State, Utah, Utah State and BYU. That list is expected to grow with two seasons of high school football still ahead of him.

Masina gets the lion's share of attention. He is quick to credit his teammates on the line and his fellow linebackers for making him look good. Masina said they consistently free him so he can get in the open field or behind the line of scrimmage to make the big plays

"They make it so much easier for me than what the fans may see or the papers report," Masina said. "I couldn't do it without my team."

Masina has the motor to make it all work. His energy and enthusiasm on defense is contagious. He does not shy away from contact coming off the edge and demonstrates equal skill at pass rushing or sticking a running back at the line of scrimmage.

It makes him a highly effective linebacker.



"You're taking on some big lineman or some big fullback — coming at you every play," Masina said. "I love that contact and that thrill of trying to beat the guy to make the tackle. That's just one of my favorite things ever in football."

Masina has done plenty of little things to improve his game coming into his junior season. He put on 20 pounds of muscle in the weight room over the summer. He also took up running hurdles and sprints in the spring to enhance his speed and leaping ability on the field.

Masina has noticed that competing in track has made a huge difference when it comes to running the ball or pursuing a tackle.

"Track season has had a huge influence with football," Masina said. "Those hurdles are high. So when you're coming into football and there's a guy on the ground and you have to just go one foot over him, it's instant reaction from track season. It's instant. All of that stuff just comes in handy."

John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps.com. He is a former prep sports reporter with the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. You can contact him at john_coon@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports.