Mason McMormick
Fourth-round pick, No. 119 overall
Guard, South Dakota State
6-foot-4, 309 pounds
Stats: Two-time defending FCS national champion South Dakota State ranked sixth nationally in both total offense and scoring offense in 2023 with McCormick as the starting left guard for all 30 games in that span.
Hometown: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Tidbits: Had the second-highest “Athleticism Score” among all guards at the combine, as calculated by the league. …. A first-team AP FCS All-American in 2022 and 2023, all-Missouri Valley Conference each of the past four seasons. … A team captain for the Jackrabbits during both of their national championship teams. … Made 57 consecutive starts to end his career. … After redshirting as a freshman in 2018 (appearing in three games), McCormick played in the final 12 games of the 2019 season. He started the final two games and then each of South Dakota State’s in each of the past three seasons since. … Turns 24 years old next month. … Part of an offensive line that helped the Jackrabbits to an FCS national ranking of fifth in rushing yards per game. … For the 2022 season, McCormick was given the Adam Timmerman Award as the offense’s co-Most Valuable Player. … Was an official pre-draft visitor to the Steelers on the same day earlier this month as first-round pick Troy Fautanu. … Along with Fautanu, a tackle, and second-round pick Zach Frazier, a center, McCormick made for three offensive linemen selected over the first four rounds for the Steelers. … Is the second South Dakota State player drafted by the Steelers, joining 2022 seventh-round quarterback Chris Oladokun. …. Those are the lone FCS players drafted by the Steelers since South Carolina State defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in 2016.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.