HERO Sports is counting down the days until the kickoff of the 2018 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 25, by featuring the best player in the FBS at each jersey number, from 99-1. Each day, from May 18 through Aug. 24, we'll publish one article showcasing the best player whose jersey number matches the number of days remaining.
No. 6 Mason Fine
North Texas – QB
One hundred and eighty pro-style passers were ranked by 247Sports in the 2016 recruiting class. Mason Fine was ranked behind 128 of them. He was a two-star prospect with one FBS scholarship offer. And he says that ranking was accurate.
“Looking back, you can’t blame those ratings,” Fine told 247Sports in May. “Look at me in high school: 5-foot-10, 150 pounds. You’re thinking, ‘Look at this kid. He’s not going to make it. … It happens. If I'm looking at myself, I’d rank me as a two-star."
This is a guy who tore apart Conference USA with an unstoppable deep ball in 2017, his first season as a starter. Of his 4,052 passing yards, 1,363 came on passes thrown at least 20 yards downfield, sixth in the FBS, according to Pro Football Focus.
Fine led North Texas to sixth nine-win season in program history and their first-ever appearance in the Conference USA Championship. He's an All-America candidate and the best No. 6 in college football.