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SALT LAKE CITY — Sidelined by a fluke season-ending injury, sophomore Chase Hansen is ready for his moment.
Last year during fall camp, Hansen was seen as the heir apparent at quarterback once then-starter Travis Wilson and backup Kendal Thompson graduated from the program. Now, Hansen is on the opposite side of the ball with a mission to hunt down opponents and deliver a hard blow to the body as a strong safety.
Hansen started at safety in one game last season where he led the team in tackles and appeared destined for a big role. But a season-ending injury put a wrinkle in his transition to defense.
“I’m still in the process of coming back,” Hansen said. “I’ve got a long way to go — a lot to learn physically and mentally. There’s just a lot to get up to speed, especially in this defense. If you’re not 110 percent, you’re left in the dust.
“I definitely don’t feel like I’m conditioned enough or mentally caught up enough to be where I need to be, but I feel like it’s what I need to be doing in order to get to where I want to be,” Hansen added. “Being out there with this defense is fun. It’s exhausting, but it’s fun; it’s mentally, physically taxing, but I’m glad it’s where I’m at right now.”
Although recruited to Utah as a quarterback, Hansen said he loves his new role at safety and hasn’t “looked back” at playing quarterback.
“There’s a lot I love about being a safety, even more so than being a quarterback,” Hansen said. “Someone told me that when I got to college I was going to have to start sliding. I just remember mentally saying I’m not going to slide. I think that’s when I knew maybe quarterback wasn’t for me. I just had the mentality that’s maybe a little more defensive-minded, I guess.”
Hansen admits he still has a lot to learn to be effective as a starting safety at Utah, but with the help of Marcus Williams and coaches Morgan Scalley and Sharieff Shah he’s confident he’ll be able to make the switch and “inflict pain” on opponents.
“Marcus is really smart. They know he’s a great athlete, but he’s a really smart dude and he’s helped me a lot,” Hansen said. “Sometimes he’s got to scream and shout when I’m out there — getting me lined up. But he’s been a big part of (helping me). Coach Scalley and coach Shah, they’re the ultimate coaches. They stay after and do extra footwork with me, extra film. They’re a huge part of my progression. I know as well as they do that there’s a lot I need to learn, too.”
Scalley said Hansen has been successful in his transition to defense as an “instinctive” and “physical” safety but has to learn he can’t try “to make every play.”
“He’s just got to focus on right now his assignment and taking care of his 1/11th,” Scalley said. “Plays are going to come to you when you do that, and he’s athletic enough and a ballplayer and will make those plays.”
Hansen, too, said it’s been difficult to stick to his assignments and not feel like he has to have an impact on every play he’s in the game.
“That was one of the biggest adjustments that I did have to make from quarterback,” he said. “I wanted to be — I mean, you are a part of every play on offense and have an impact on every play. On defense you’ve got to learn to do your job. You could defend a guy for a solid seven seconds, be out of gas and the play is not even going your way. But you did your job and that’s the whole part of being a part of the defensive family.”
Hansen is a projected starter at strong safety this season, lining up next to proven safety Marcus Williams.
