Players of the Pine Belt: Purvis WR Mason Beverly

PURVIS, Miss. (WDAM) -After going 2-7 last season, Purvis looks to improve in 2022.

To do that, Head Coach Brad Hankins will lean on wide receiver and corner Mason Beverly to lead the charge for the tornadoes.

“He’s a special football player first,” Hankins said. “He’s explosive at times and we’re gonna hope that we can get him the ball in some space and let him do some things because he can make people miss.”

Beverly can be a matchup problem for any corner with a quick twitch and the ability to change direction, but what attracted him to wide receiver is simple.

“I always liked running routes when I was a kid,” Purvis senior Mason Beverly said.

Beverly, or Peanut as Hankins refers to him as, contributes on both sides of the ball.

“The thing about him is he’s competitive. He definitely doesn’t want to get embarrassed at corner,” Hankins said.

“Every time they throw the ball the crowd looking at us, the cornerback, so if they catch the ball everybody looking at me as ‘he let him do that,’” Beverly said.

A basketball player, Beverly only started playing football four years ago but quickly became a threat on the field because of his work ethic.

“He’s gonna maximize every rep he gets and that’s a big asset to why he’s been a key factor for us the last couple of years,” Hankins said.

“Hard work really every single time, every rep,” Beverly said. “Bustin that butt every single play.”

And with only 7 seniors and a young squad, Hankins looks to Beverly to set the standard for the tornadoes.

“They look at us as an example so if they see us not running hard, they ain’t gonna run hard,” Beverly said.

“He sets that example for those guys in the weight room on the practice field,” Hankins said. “You know how he carries himself at school, he’s a very respectful young man in and out of the classroom, and all that carries over to the field. I’m just glad he’s on our team.”

Hankins hopes some of those young players he mentioned develop into contributors in 2022.

“Kind of anxious to see where some of these young guys fit, and how they can help us win some football games,” Hankins said.

“We don’t like being 2-7, so we can use it as some motivation every single time to keep going hard every single play.”

Purvis opens the season at Lumberton on Aug. 26.

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