Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – During each of his eight seasons leading the West High football program Garrett Hartwig has had the opportunity to coach an elite individual player.

That lengthy list of standouts includes the likes of Oliver Martin, Evan Flitz and Marcus Morgan and is lined with Division I recruits and state record holders.

The latest on that list is a relative unknown across the state and on recruiting boards but features a unique skill set unlike anything Hartwig has seen before.

Get ready to know senior Mason Applegate.

“You can’t say enough about him and fortunately being at West over the years I feel like I’ve been able to say that about at least one player every year for the last eight years,” Hartwig said. “He’s right in the category.”

Applegate doesn’t have the stat line of a Flitz, the highlight reel plays like Morgan or a recruiting profile like Martin.

What the 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior defensive tackle turned tailback does possess is a rare combination of speed, athleticism, strength and power that makes him one of the most intriguing West High players of the Hartwig era.

“He’s got a 500-pound squat and he is pound for pound probably one of the strongest if not the strongest guy to come through our program,” Hartwig said. “He’s thick but he’s a lean thick and he just works and you can’t give him enough credit for that.”

The programs this fall and the previous paragraph are correct, those aren’t typos.

Applegate will play defensive line and tailback this fall, a two-way position combination that few Class 4A players can even attempt.

As hard as it is to picture for some, for Applegate the combination of defensive tackle and tailback is natural.

“My whole life I’ve been playing defensive line,” Applegate said. “Switching over to running back was a little hard but I’ve adjusted to it pretty quickly. I feel really good back there.”

Applegate is a rare player that possesses the strength necessary to excel along the line and the speed to burn past defensive backs.

He has made 73 tackles including 21 for loss while ranking third on the team in tackles each of the past three seasons from his interior defensive line spot.

“He was one of the best d-lineman in the state, he’s awesome,” Hartwig said. “It’s a tribute to his work ethic and his toughness.”

This season with the top four rushers gone from last year’s West High team that finished 6-1 a year ago Applegate takes over as the leader in the Trojan offensive backfield.

He is putting his time as a defensive tackle to good use while attacking defenses.

“I can see how the defensive line gets set and if someone shifts as a running back you can see where a hole will open,” Applegate said. “Recognizing things like that have helped make the transition to running back easier.”

Undersized by weight standards on the defensive line at 200 pounds, the key for Applegate is his strength, explosion and speed.

That combination was on full display at the state track meet while Applegate qualified in both the shot put and the 100 meter.

“It’s pretty much just strength and explosion,” Applegate said. “It’s most explosion and just getting off the ball or flying through on shot put. It definitely helps being fast and strong.”

Applegate was also a state qualifier in wrestling at 182 pounds last winter and says all the sports together have made him a better football player.

“All the sports kind of work together,” Applegate said. “Sprinting, football get off the ball, even wrestling taking a shot is basically like tackling. They all go together.”

Hartwig hasn’t seen a player make the move from defensive line to starting running back.

Then again the 14-year coach veteran at West High hasn’t seen many athletes like Applegate.

The closest comparison may be his older brother Landon Green who was an elite all-state defensive lineman for the Trojans in 2018.

“He would have been one of the best tailbacks in the state I think last year but we had excellent tailbacks and he showed out on the defensive line,” Hartwig said. “He’s going to have opportunities on both sides of the ball.”

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