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.
Osa Masina, Brighton
Courtesy 247sports
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.
