What's Left For Fine to Accomplish?

DENTON – Senior quarterback Mason Fine has accomplished quite a bit during his three-plus years in Denton. His name is all over the Mean Green record book and several other key categories are in his sights. What else is left before Fine moves on to his next chapter?

Winning his last game(s)

North Texas has resurrected itself quickly from the 1-11 2015 season prior to head coach Seth Littrell and Fine's arrival. The Mean Green have reached three consecutive bowl games for only the second time in program history. Unfortunately, however, the team has fallen in all three – only one of which Fine was completely healthy for.

He missed the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2016 due to injury as a true freshman and last season in the New Mexico Bowl suffered a leg injury in the first quarter that cost the Peggs, Oklahoma, native the remainder of the game, despite a gritty effort to fight through the pain.

The Mean Green are positioned well again to compete for a conference championship and find success in bowl season. One of the only things left on Fine's sparkling UNT resume is a win in his last game.

Wins in the final regular season game against defending Conference USA champion UAB, a conference championship game and then a bowl game are all realistic goals for this team, and Fine will be driving the bus.

The Career Passing Touchdown Record (and more)

Through three seasons, Fine owns North Texas program records for career passing yardage (9,417 entering 2019, which has him as the FBS active career leader), career completions (782), career pass attempts (1,241), career passing efficiency (139.74) and career 300-yard passing games (13).

He also owns single-season records for passing yardage (4,052 in 2017), touchdown passes (31 in 2017), completions (324 in 2017), and attempts (511 in 2017).

So what's the biggest fish left in the North Texas record sea? Career passing touchdowns.

The great Steve Ramsey (1967-69) is still holding onto that record with 69 during his Hall of Fame career. Mitch Maher currently sits second with 67, but Fine is within striking distance of the pair during the first few weeks of the season, entering 2019 with 64 career scoring tosses.

Fine is also second in career completion percentage, trailing Riley Dodge (2008-10), who completed 64.7% of his career pass attempts. Fine checks in at 63.0% for his career. He's certainly got some work to do in this category, but seemingly could also leave Denton with his name atop this list as well, should he continue to improve on his completion percentage.

The Heisman hopeful has seen his completion percentage rise in each of his three seasons.

2016 – 59.4% (155-261)
2017 – 63.4% (324-511)
2018 – 64.6% (303-469)

Under new offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder, Fine has the opportunity to continue to see those numbers rise.

Fine was the statistical victim of several drops in 2018, and ranked second in the country in adjusted completion percentage (79.7%), a metric from Pro Football Focus that takes into account drops, throwaways, spiked balls, batted passes and passes where the quarterback was hit while throwing.

Personal (National) Hardware

Fine, who is the last to care about any personal accolades, was named the best quarterback in the state of Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football and is an elite quarterback by national standards. He enters 2019 on watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien Award – all showcasing either the national player of the year or the national player of the year at Fine's position.

The back-to-back defending Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year (and 2019 Preseason C-USA Offensive Player of the Year) has brought home the hardware from his conference, but this time around has the chance to be firmly in the mix for some of the national plaudits as well.

The FBS' active career leader in passing yardage should be in position to place himself in more of the national conversation in 2019 and has some key dates on the schedule to showcase his prowess – Sept. 14 against one of the top defenses in the country statistically in 2018 in Cal and Sept. 28 at home against Houston. Heisman voters could be perking their ears up should Fine and the Mean Green start fast again in 2019.

Follow along with his progress this season at 6ForHeisman.com.

End the Draft Drought

North Texas has put several key contributors to the NFL over the past 15 years, but have not had a player drafted since Cody Spencer was selected by the Oakland Raiders in 2004. Fine has a chance (as do several other Mean Green players this year), to break the cycle. Fine has always had to battle doubt due to his size – that's nothing new. He has time and time again proved doubters wrong and will aim to fight the stigma against smaller quarterbacks still held by many in the NFL.

With the recent success of Baker Mayfield in Cleveland (listed at six-feet) and potential success of last year's No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray (listed at 5'10") in Arizona, along with the offensive trends shifting towards more of a spread and in some cases air raid approach, Fine should stand out as a great fit in a league that continues to progress.

In Conclusion

Regardless of whether Fine checks off any of the above boxes, he will go down as one of the most storied players in program history. It should be a fun ride for Fine and the Mean Green in 2019.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Mason Fine

Upcoming Events

University of North Texas Athletics