Early Enrollee Spotlight: WR Mason Mangum
Westlake's Mason Mangum was one of the final offers doled out in the 2020 class for Cal. The former Arkansas commit was offered before the USC game, visited officially and committed about a month later, and enrolled at Cal about a month after that. Recruiting moves fast.
Mangum is part of a five-man wide receiver class alongside Jeremiah Hunter, Tommy Christakos, Aidan Lee, and Justin Baker, but the wideout from Texas has a jump on the group with enrolling early.
Mason Mangum
Hometown: Austin, TX
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Class: Freshman
Rivals Ranking: Three-star (5.5) wideout per Rivals
High School Highlights
Mangum had a strong senior year for a state title winning Westlake squad. As a senior, he finished with 64 receptions for 1036 yards and 14 touchdowns, including a 33 yard touchdown reception in that state title game.
Mangum finished as the all-time leading receiver in Westlake history, closing his three year varsity career with 162 receptions for 2907 yards and 41 career touchdowns. He played for teams that went to the state-semifinals in the 6A D2 Texas state playoffs as a junior and sophomore before breaking through to a win over Guyer (Denton).
Did You Know
Mangum played varsity basketball for two years and ran track (110 and 300 hurdles, along with 60m dash and the long jump). He made the Texas State finals in the 110m hurdles and the long jump, finishing second in both.
They Said It
What to Expect
With Mangum, Cal is getting a guy they targeted for the slot, but someone who's shown an ability to play outside and take the top off a defense. That's something Mangum did against some of the best football competition the state of Texas has to offer. He's quick, springy as an athlete (as evidenced by his ability to dunk a basketball at 6' tall), and has a football pedigree (dad played at Wisconsin, brother played at Harvard).
Mangum getting to campus early helps at the slot position, where Nikko Remigio is the main threat at the moment, but Remigio and Jeremiah Hawkins are in their junior and senior years respectively. Mangum may not be starting in his first or second year, but getting in early should allow him an opportunity to get early playing time at a position that had injuries a year ago.