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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Football: Hansen is back, and looking to make an impact

Football: Hansen is back, and looking to make an impact

hansen.jpg

Utah quarterback Chase Hansen has been away from the field for two years and appears to have not missed a beat. The former Lone Peak product used to terrorize local football fields before spending a year redshirting here on the hill, and then serving a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham said he is the next guy up right after Travis Wilson and has been improving day by day.

“Chase is doing a great job for being away from football for a couple of years, just getting back into the swing of things,” Whittingham said. “Making strides every day, shaking a little bit of the rust off each day and really is performing well, exceeding expectations at this point.”

Hansen said he is happy with his performance in comparison to other guys who have been focusing all their energy on just football.

“Physically, I’m happy where I’m at,” Hansen said. “Coming back from my mission, I’m happy that I feel like I’m at the same level as the guys on the inside of the ball.”

He went on to say that while he was on his mission in Australia, he was able to get a few workouts in during the week, despite the busy schedule of a missionary.

“Fair amount [of practice], as much as I could,” Hansen said. “Tried to at least throw twice a week. A lot of that was just rehabbing from surgery, the last year was trying to get things back, get a lot stronger.”

Before returning, there were rumors that Hansen had changed his mind while in the mission field, switching his commitment from Utah to BYU. But when Hansen arrived back home from down under, Whittingham was at the airport to welcome him back and this kind of moment is partly why Hansen chose to be a Ute.

“It’s awesome [that he came], especially [since] it’s a long time coming home,” Hansen said. “Not sure of a lot of things and the guy who’s been there the whole time is still there. Loyalty is obviously big on him and it’s a big reason why I’m here.”

Hansen was excited for the opening of spring camp because he had constantly been restricted. After that first practice, he felt right at home.

“For a long time it’s just been hold back, take it easy,” Hansen said. “It felt good, it didn’t feel different, it felt normal.”

Whittingham said Hansen continues to show more and more versatility, as he is impressing all the coaches with his playmaking ability. This past Tuesday, Whittingham added he was able to make some great live plays, especially for someone who hasn’t taken a hit in awhile.

“He’s got great leadership skills and he is starting to become much more commanding of the offense,” Whittingham said. “Hasn’t been around for a couple years, so terminology is new to him so he’s done a nice job of closing that gap.”

While he is gaining ground on his teammates, Hansen still thinks he has plenty to focus and improve on.

“There’s always something you can take away,” Hansen said. “[I have to work on] throwing from the pocket, being accurate, just learning offense in general. [But] I feel comfortable running the offense right now.”

The entire team was eager to get in the pads for practice this week, and most of Hansen’s teammates were curious as to how he was going to handle it. They kept questioning him how that first hit felt and how he was doing, but Hansen had a reaction most of them were not expecting.

“It felt awesome,” Hansen said. “As weird as it sounds at first, it felt good. It feels nice to be back in pads where I’ve always been.”

This is what Hansen is looking forward to in the next few weeks of practice, the live-action plays. While practice is certainly beneficial to him, he feels more comfortable in game-time situations where the defense is posing a threat.

“[I’m] just looking to go live more, because you get all the reps throwing against no defense and they’re not there,” Hansen said. “The live scrimmages, getting to actually play like it’s real football, those are the times that I love it.”

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@kbrenneisen

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