By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa —A ferocious defensive lineman, the aggressive Mason Richman used his quickness off the ball to terrorize opponents as a student-athlete at Blue Valley (Kansas) High School.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz watched highlights and recognized Richman’s qualities. He also saw a skillset that translated into the type of offensive lineman the Hawkeyes have had success with.
“He has the right attributes and frame,” Ferentz said of the 6-foot-6, 289-pound Richman. “He is going to be a big guy. That athleticism, quickness and aggressiveness translates well into an offensive lineman.”
Richman enrolled during the 2020 spring semester after earning first-team all-state honors as a senior defensive end. He was a finalist for the Class 6A Defensive Player of the Year and entered his first camp with the Hawkeyes as a defensive lineman.
“Getting introduced to the offensive line was scary at first,” Richman said. “As I continued to get more involved with coach (Tim) Polasek and the players around me, it became more fun. Asserting your dominance on someone is one of the biggest things I like about playing offensive line.”