Like most people I was watching the game with last night, that was THE question that was asked. Who the is this #9 Hansen. I am sure you were probably wondering that too as most of us never thought he would see the field this year as a true freshman. But if you look back at our old site, you can see he was very productive in the spring and we took note of it. In the second scrimmage of the spring, Tyler Hansen went 3 - 4, 54 yards and two touchdowns along with 6 carries for 72 yards so he has shown playmaking ability before. I even said this after I watched practice a couple of times:

I was actually pleasantly surprised in the freshman Tyler Hansen's arm strength. He looks like a deer in the headlights in 11 - 11 (who wouldn't be) but in passing drills he was pushing Nelson for second best.

But yours truly did not see this coming. No one really did. There were rumors out of practice that Hansen might get time but stripping a redshirt when half the season was over, didn't seem logical. But what is logical is winning and winning is all we care about. Like I said in my initial reaction to the game, this offense is not prolific, it's not strong, it's not anything compared to most of the Big 12 offenses including Kansas State but Hansen gave them a spark last night. It was enough of a wrinkle in the offense to surprise Kansas State just enough to get 14 points. It was a great plan. You knew Ron Prince and the Kansas State defense was going to try and pressure first, defend pass second. How do you beat that with no passing game? Belly option with a two pronged running attack. It was genius. I realize the offense is bland, conservative, vanilla and no trick plays but do you realize what theBuffs have on offense right now? A true freshman quarterback, a true freshman running back, two sophomore wide receivers, two red shirt freshman offensive lineman, a sophomore left tackle and a substitute offensive lineman who played defense two weeks ago. This is not going to be a prolific offense...this year. But they are getting invaluable experience.

So who is true freshman Tyler Hansen:

The 6'2" 205lb quarterback is from Temecula, California where he attended Chaparral High School. His dad was a quarterback at San Diego State and had a brief stint in the NFL. Most publications note that Tyler's dad was instrumental in his development, molding him into a quarterback with a lot of strong quarterbacking traits. Just a bit too short to be a Pac-10 recruited quarterback, Hansen excelled at the cerebral part of being a quarterback: a good decisions, strong knowledge of the offense, great athlete, good game management and strong pocket presence. The fact that he, as a true freshman, looked rather comfortable out there proves that he is a smart kid and has the ability to handle the reins of an offense. Once again, it was a limited offense but he made throws Cody couldn't make like the pass at the end of the 3rd quarter to Jake Behrens on the sideline over a defender for a first down. He was able to make plays with his feet that bought him time and he had a strong enough arm to make the sideline throw. In addition to his arm strength, Hansen runs a 4.69 forty which, as you know, is great quicks for a QB. Sounds like a great fit at the spread offense right?

Hansen only had one other scholarship offer from Idaho State because most shied away due to his size at 6'1". To Colorado fans, Hansen is a giant! Oregon, San Diego State and Boise State also showed interest in Hansen but no offers. 

As a junior and senior in high school, Hansen threw for over 4,500 yards of offense and 46 touchdowns. His senior year of high school he was asked to run a different style of offense that made him more of a running threat than a passing threat due to inexperienced skill players. His senior year, he rushed for over 500 yards and nine touchdowns, threw for 1,700 yards and eight touchdowns. His senior year, Hansen was named his league's offensive MVP. This January, he played in the Southern California All Star Bowl and was named the MVP. From this article, it sounds like this All Star game is pretty serious business in Southern California with the best of the best talent. For a little more on Tyler Hansen, here is his cubuffs.com biography.

Here is a highlight film of Tyler Hansen at Chaparral High School. The thing I noticed really early and I liked a lot; his ability to make a throw on the run.