BOULDER, Colo.—Senior Tyler Hansen, as expected, will be Colorado’s starting quarterback this fall.
Coach Jon Embree made the announcement Tuesday. He also said that five players won’t be returning, including two because of knee injuries, senior offensive guard Max Tuioti-Mariner and junior receiver Will Jefferson.
Junior defensive end Forrest West and redshirt freshmen tight ends Henley Griffon and Harold Mobley weren’t invited back. Embree gave no explanation.
Hansen played each of the last three seasons and landed the starting job for the first time last August by beating out former player Cody Hawkins, son of former coach Dan Hawkins.
Hansen’s year was cut short when his spleen ruptured playing against Texas Tech in the seventh game. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound player from Murietta, Calif., had completed 112 of 164 passes for 1,102 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions.
Hansen had a solid spring, completing nearly 74 percent of his passes (39 for 53) in the team’s three main scrimmages. He threw five touchdown passes and no interceptions. He also ran four times for 37 yards, taking off much less than earlier in his career, and avoiding taking any sacks.
“I feel like I am playing smarter, I’m making better decisions, knowing when to throw the ball away instead of taking a sack, where to go with the ball based on coverages and knowing when to pull the ball down and run,” Hansen said.
Hansen beat out Nick Hirschman, a redshirt freshman who completed 22 of 43 passes for 274 yards and three TDs without an interception in the scrimmages.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
