Off the charts: Conant grad Reiger creating NFL draft buzz
Wisconsin edge Mason Reiger made a bold prediction at the start of the NFL Scouting Combine, then backed it up.
During his media availability in Indianapolis, Reiger said: “I think a lot of people don't know how well I'm going to test — off the charts, athletically. I think they're going to be surprised after this week.”
The exact level of surprise among NFL scouts and observers is difficult to discern. But the Conant High School grad delivered when the stopwatches were out. According to nfl.com, Reiger's athleticism score ranked third among all defensive ends at the combine.
He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds, which was the 15th-best time at his position. But the 10-yard split, a measure of explosiveness off the line of scrimmage, was tied for fifth. His vertical leap of 40 inches would have looked good at the NBA Combine.
Speaking Friday at Wisconsin's Pro Day in Madison, Reiger thought he could have set the bar even higher.
“I was a little disappointed in myself,” he said. “I had some higher expectations.”
Reiger bet on himself before. After a stellar high school career at Conant, he described himself as a Division II recruit. Two Power 4 schools made preferred walk-on offers and Reiger chose to pay his own way to Louisville.
He was on scholarship by his third year, then had his first breakout season in 2023 with 5 sacks, including 2 in an upset of No. 10 Notre Dame.
Reiger had to miss the entire 2024 season due to complications from a pair of knee surgeries. When his final college season launched after transferring to Wisconsin, he was on nobody's radar for the next NFL draft.
Now he's listed as a third-day pick and likely rising up teams’ draft boards. The postseason surge began when Reiger was named defensive MVP of the East-West Shrine Bowl after a 3-sack performance.
“Super exciting. Dream come true,” is how Reiger described the past two months. “Just enjoying this whole process because it only happens once and it's flying by. So taking everything as it comes and just doing it all with a smile on my face for sure.”
Reiger wore No. 22 at Wisconsin and often looked like a defensive back flying off the edge. One specialty was using his quickness to dart past offensive tackles untouched, reminiscent of former Badgers end T.J. Watt.
A player who could add some juice to the pass rush and grow into a three-down defender — sounds like a good fit for the Bears. Reiger reported he’s had two meetings with his hometown team, at the Shrine Bowl and combine.
“Grew up a Bears fan, so that'd be cool,” he said. “But honestly, whatever team I have the privilege of getting drafted by and whoever takes a chance on me, I'm going to go there with open arms.”
Reiger is the middle of three boys, and he credited his older brother, Jack, for inspiring him to start playing football as a kid. Jack played in college at Northern Michigan and Louisville.
“It was just super competitive in my house, is what I tell people,” Reiger said. “That's why I am the way I am still today. We were always pushing each other to be the best.
“Shout out to the Hoffman Redhawks (youth team), because I think that really set the tone for my football career. We weren't just an in-house team playing the local teams. We'd go to regional championships in Indiana. We went down to Florida to play in the National Championship tournament.”
Former Conant coach Bryan Stortz said Reiger grew quite a bit during high school, one reason he's been a bit of a late bloomer in football.
“He was long and athletic by the end of this senior season,” Stortz said. “High football IQ, he loves the game, the grind and is a great leader.”
Reiger trained for the NFL combine in South Florida. Now he plans to split time between Hoffman Estates and Madison as he awaits the NFL draft on April 23-25.
“Everything I've done in my career has shown that I'm resilient,” Reiger said. “I know I can bring a lot to a team, and whatever they ask me to do, I will gladly do, for sure.”