Mason McCormick (born May 25, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

South Dakota State Jackrabbits The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are the 19 intercollegiate teams representing South Dakota State University that compete in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I (for football: Football Championship Subdivision). Sout ...

and was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

Early life

From

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

, McCormick attended Roosevelt High School where he played

and was on the track and field team, being first-team all-state as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

. He was a top athlete in both sports and helped the football team reach the state championship. An ''

Argus-Leader The ''Argus Leader'' is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is the largest newspaper by total circulation in South Dakota. It is owned by Gannett and part of the USA Today Network. History The ''Argus Leader'' traces its hi ...

'' Elite 45 selection, McCormick played mainly as an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

but saw time at all offensive line positions. He committed to play

for the

, being a zero-star prospect.

College career

McCormick appeared in three games as a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

at South Dakota State in 2018, taking a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

. The following year, he played in the final 12 games and had two starts towards the end of the season. In the spring 2021 season, postponed from 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, McCormick started all 10 games while helping South Dakota State reach the national championship, being chosen all-conference and an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection. He then became a team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and started all 15 games at left guard in the fall 2021 season, being named receiving his second second-team All-

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

(MVFC) honor while also being an All-American. In the 2022 season, McCormick started all 15 games and was a first-team All-MVFC selection and consensus All-American, helping South Dakota State win their first national championship. He was named six times the offensive lineman of the week and received the Adam Timmerman Award as co-offensive

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

at South Dakota State. He returned for a final season in 2023. He helped the team repeat as national champions while starting all 15 games, being named first-team All-MVFC and first-team All-American. He finished his collegiate career having started 57 consecutive games. He was invited to the

East–West Shrine Bowl The East–West Shrine Bowl is a postseason college football all-star game that has been played annually since 1925; through January 2019, it was known as the East–West Shrine Game. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners Inter ...

and to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

Professional career

McCormick was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round (119th overall) of the 2024 NFL draft. Following injuries to Isaac Seumalo and

Troy Fautanu Troy Fautanu (born October 11, 2000) is an American professional American football, football offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies football, Washi ...

, McCormick made his first professional start in Week 4's 27–24 loss to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bioSouth Dakota State Jackrabbits bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Mason 2000 births Living people American football offensive guards Players of American football from Sioux Falls, South Dakota South Dakota State Jackrabbits football players Pittsburgh Steelers players