Wisconsin football lands productive FCS transfer tight end from Missouri State
Wisconsin football bolsters its tight end room with Missouri State transfer Lance Mason, a proven pass-catcher in the FCS and physical in-line blocker.
The Wisconsin football program came out of spring practice with a big question to answer: how to patch a major hole in its tight end room. And by all accounts, the Badgers may have found their answer.
Lance Mason, one of the top available tight ends in the transfer portal this Spring, announced his commitment to the Badgers after taking an official visit to Madison. Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports was the first to report the news, which BadgerNotes confirmed with a source that was familiar with the situation.
The former Missouri State standout brings a combination of proven production, veteran experience, and an all-around skill set that should fit nicely into what Wisconsin wants to do offensively.
Mason isn’t just another body to fill a roster spot. He’s a real player.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound senior pass-catcher led all FCS tight ends with 590 receiving yards last season, hauling in 34 catches and six touchdowns en route to an honorable-mention All-American nod from the Associated Press.
He was also a third-team All-American selection by Stats Perform and FCS Football Central, earned second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors, and led the MVFC in yards per reception at 17.35 yards—the best mark among all tight ends nationally. Simply put, he was one of the most efficient tight ends at the FCS level last season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Mason posted an 82.5 offensive grade last season, including an elite 90.5 mark as a receiver and a solid 74.7 grade as a pass blocker—though his 55.8 grade as a run blocker shows there’s still some room for growth.
And while Mason's run-blocking grade wasn’t anything to write home about, a full review of his tape shows that he's more than a willing blocker. If he can clean up his technique and add a little more size and strength in the weight room with Brady Collins, he has the potential to grow into a steady contributor in the run game.
Still, the numbers back up the kind of two-way impact Wisconsin needs in the tight end room moving forward.
Over the past three years at Missouri State, the Texas native totaled 56 catches for 800 yards, eight scores, and just one drop across 1,077 career offensive snaps. And it’s how he got there that matters.
More than half of Mason’s snaps came as a run blocker. That’s crucial because Wisconsin offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes demands physicality and versatility from his tight ends—especially with how often he runs the football, uses pre-snap motions, and different personnel groupings to set up his play designs to take calculated shots downfield.
“That position is one of the most difficult positions to just to learn in this offense, but also to just get to the point where they’re able to excel at their jobs,” Grimes said. “They’re lining up all over the place. They have to know where to line up like any receiver or running back would, as well as traditional tight end alignments.
“Their job responsibilities are larger. The volume of skills that we ask from them is high. They’ve got to be able to run block like an offensive tackle. They’ve also got to be able to run block like a receiver—which is an undervalued thing. Then they’ve got to be able to pass protect, particularly in the play-action game. And then they’ve got to be able to run routes like a receiver would when we extend them out there."
Mason’s background as an in-line blocker—lining up on the line of scrimmage 84% of the time last season—gives him an edge in competing for a significant role in fall camp alongside rising junior tight end and multi-year starter Tucker Ashcraft.
And given the Badgers’ abrupt loss of Ball State transfer Tanner Koziol to the portal mid-spring, the opportunity is there.
Make no mistake: this is a player Wisconsin’s coaching staff wanted.
Mason picked the Badgers over strong interest from Oklahoma, California, Purdue, and others. For a team that wants to restore its physical identity and feature more 11 and 12 personnel as a central part of its new-look offense, landing someone with Mason’s two-way skill set was a must.
That said, it’s hard to ignore the numbers to this point—or lack thereof. On average, Letton’s tight end room has produced just 27 catches, 235 yards, and fewer than two touchdowns per season over the last two years. That level of production barely moves the needle. Wisconsin needs more out of the position, and Mason gives them a real shot to raise the overall production.
I'd expect Mason to immediately factor into the two-deep alongside Ashcraft, who has played 612 snaps the past two seasons and showed flashes, catching 20 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Former four-star recruit Grant Stec has taken a step forward and could push to see the field in 2025. Jackson Acker, who’s been used frequently as a hybrid blocking tight end and fullback, should also be in the mix this fall, along with JT Seagreaves.
But, with Mason’s blend of experience, toughness, and receiving production, it will be tough to keep off the field.
The Badgers needed a steady addition at tight end—someone who can do the dirty work in the run game but also has the versatility to give defenses something to think about down the seam or in the red zone. In Mason, they might’ve found that.
He might not fix every problem or come with the same pedigree as a guy like Koziol, but he's an intriguing portal pickup who makes the room better right now, can step in and play snaps from day one, and raises the floor of what’s possible in 2025.
Given the tough loss the Badgers suffered this spring, this is a nice rebound for Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin coaching staff.
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