A lot of local athletes will be signing National Letter of Intent next Wednesday. Los Osos High School senior Mason Vega never imagined himself being one of those guys. But he indeed will be.
Vega had never played football at any level before this season but will be signing with Division I Portland State. He felt good about the decision after a visit to the school last weekend.
He has played basketball but it wasn’t until this year that he decided to try football.
“I had a lot of people telling me I ought to try,” he said. “I was going to go out last year and then for whatever reason I just didn’t. This was my last year and I didn’t want to have any regrets.”
Vega says he had a former basketball teammate in Shane Johnson whose dad talked about having a family member whose biggest regret was not playing football, or at least given it a try.
“That was the person that really put me over the edge as far as actually doing it,” Vega said. “I never would have thought I would get this far this far so it turned out to be a great decision.”
Vega, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, also had an offer from Idaho and took an unofficial visit to San Diego State. He played defensive end for the Grizzlies but was recruited as an outside linebacker.
Vega tallied 48 tackles, 13 of those for a loss, and had a fumble recovery for the Grizzles (4-6).
Vega plans to major in psychology.
