BOULDER — Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen didn’t picture starting his senior season with just one victory through seven games, but that’s where the Buffaloes sit with No. 9 Oregon up Saturday at homecoming.
After sharing playing time on and off with Cody Hawkins throughout his career, Hansen was looking forward to being able to run the team by himself this fall. He’s had his moments, but also been sacked more than any other Pac-12 quarterback, in large part because of lopsided scores that have allowed opposing defenses to tee off on him.
Through it all, he’s kept his sense of humor.
“Being healthy, I’m the weird guy on the team, I guess,” he said, a reference to the rash of injuries the Buffs have sustained.
As disappointing as this season has been, he said the seniors still have a lot of play for in helping first-year coach Jon Embree establish the foundation of what he’s trying to build.
“Everything he’s done is to send a message and try to make (the program) stronger,” Hansen said. “A couple of years down the road you’re going to see a program that’s changed. You’re going to see this direction and this vision that Coach Embree has.
“When things turn around, all of a sudden people are going to be on the bandwagon. It’s going to happen.”
Through all the trials and tribulations, Hansen, voted a team captain by teammates, has made his mark. He ranks seventh in school history in passing yards (4,504) and total offense (4,893).
Hansen took time earlier this week to chat with The Denver Post about a wide variety of issues surrounding the team, his play, and the program.
Q. Are there are fears of ‘senioritis’ where outgoing players, such as yourself, might mentally give up and coast to the finish?
Hansen: “I don’t think so. These seniors, we’ve been through a lot. The last couple of years, you get into this mode where you’re tired of losing and you want to change something. The seniors haven’t experienced a lot of winning. We want to experience that. We have six opportunities left. You have to make a memory somewhere. We want to create some sort of memory.”
Q. Does the team, and especially the seniors, have a ‘there’s nothing to lose mentality’ going into each game?
Hansen: “I think so. A lot of crazy stuff has happened to us this year. We’ve played some good football, we’ve played some bad football. There have been a lot of guys go down with injuries. We have nothing to lose so let’s go out there (with that attitude. The great thing is, we still get to play football. We’re playing the game we love and we still have games to play. Getting to play Oregon here at home and seeing our fans at Folsom Field, that will be good. We play better at home. We’re confident at home.”
Q. With the seniors having experienced so much adversity the past four or five years, has a special bond developed?
Hansen: “Like soldiers that go to war together, they come back and they’re like brothers. I think that’s what we’ve been like. Having gone through so much, we’ve grown stronger as a group. We’re going through a little rough patch (emotionally) right now, with guys getting injured. It hurts us to see that. (Linebacker) Doug Rippy is a big part of this team and to see him not being able to finish the year, we feel for those guys. You go through that every year. But the seniors are going to feel it even more for those guys. We feel bad for those guys.”
Q. You have been sacked 19 times, more than any other Pac-12 quarterback? How are feeling physically?
Hansen: “It’s weird; I’m actually 100 percent healthy. The last couple of weeks I had some soreness, some nicks and pains here and there. But after the Washington game last weekend, I felt good. I don’t know why. Something must have happened. I wasn’t sore at all. I feel good.”
Q. After getting beaten around so much, how do you keep your composure in the pocket?
Hansen: “You just have to take one play at a time. With P-Rich (star receiver Paul Richardson) being out and now Speedy (top rusher Rodney Stewart) out, and other guys being hurt and nicked up, everything’s going to come on me. That’s going to be different. Defenses are going to change their mentality. When P-Rich was playing, defenses would sit back and play zone and not bring a lot of heat (with a pass rush) because they were afraid of the big play. With P-Rich being out, they have been bringing a lot more blitzes. Now with Speedy out, I don’t know what defenses are going to do. I’m sure they’re going to bring a lot of different stuff. It’s going to be an interesting experience. There’s a lot more pressure on me.”
Q. Do you wish you hadn’t red-shirted and would have another year? Or, are you ready to move on to the next chapter in your life after this season?
Hansen: “I do not regret my decision of pulling my redshirt (as a freshman) at all. But I do wish I had another year under Coach (Jon) Embree and his staff. Those guys are awesome. The knowledge they have for the game and for offensive football is tremendous. I think another year would have really benefitted me.”
Q. There are fans that don’t see any improvement in Embree’s first season as head coach and may even wonder why team appears worse than it was under Dan Hawkins.
Hansen: “Coach Embree is trying to lay that foundation and build for the future. He’s got to do what he’s got to do. Every decision made is for the betterment of the program. Kicking players off the team is sending a message.”
Q. How do you think you’ve improved under Embree and his offensive staff?
Hansen: “Playing quarterback is kind of like a science. You have to learn it. I’ve done a good job of taking care of the ball this year. I’ve gone through my progressions and am getting the ball out in a timely fashion, staying in the pocket, doing that stuff.”
Q. Kind of like in baseball, when a thrower becomes a pitcher?
Hansen: “Exactly. I think I’ve become a complete quarterback this year. In years prior, I’d be more of a (pass-run) dual threat and was just being an athlete out there. Now, I feel like I’m more of a complete quarterback. I’m playing the position of quarterback. I’m not just an athlete playing quarterback, I’m a quarterback.”
Q. It must hurt when you hear whispers from people who say the current seniors are losers and the team won’t get better until you guys leave.
Hansen: “It is tough to hear stuff like that. You want to block it out. You want to just focus on the positive stuff. But I think people that are saying that are outside the program. They don’t know what’s going on inside the program. The people inside the program think this group of seniors is a great group.
“Yeah, we haven’t experienced much winning. But we have done a lot to help this program out. I think we’re doing stuff now to help the younger guys to learn and to grow. You watch practice, and Josh Hartigan is like a coach out there. That’s the type of stuff that people don’t see. That’s the type of stuff that’s going to help this program out.”
Q. In looking at the depth chart, it appears the strength of the team is weighted toward the seniors and the freshman, with the middle classes not supplying enough talent or depth.
Hansen: “Depth is the most important thing in college football because guys get hurt in this game. You see it with our team right now. We’re getting a crazy number of injuries. When a guy gets hurt, you need somebody to step in. Look at Oregon. They have tons of depth. They have (running back) LaMichael James go down, and they bring in two backs that are just as good.”
Q. Your class at least was recruited off the 2007 Independence Bowl season.
Hansen: “When we signed, Colorado was coming off a bowl and things looked really bright. We saw that, and we wanted to be a part of that. We wanted to help a program grow into maturity and rise to power. I think Coach Embree’s recruits are seeing the same thing. He’s a great football mind. He’s hired some great coaches who are great recruiters and know a lot about the game. We’re relaying that message to recruits, and I think the guys Coach Embree is bringing in are good guys and are good football players.”
Q. How’s your relationship with Embree?
Hansen: “I’ve gotten close to Coach Embree the past few months, being around him so much. He’s a great guy and I love him. This year has been rough on him. You can see it on his face. I feel for him. I was standing right next to him when Doug Rippy went down (with a torn ACL) against Washington. Coach was devastated. He feels for us. He wants us to win and we want him to win.”
Q. Is there any doubt in your mind that Embree and his staff can turn the program around?
Hansen: “I have no doubts about that. Everything they’re doing is for a purpose. They’re doing the right things. They keep moving forward and plugging along and keep chopping wood. Sooner or later, it’s going to break through and everyone is going to love them for it. These coaches know what they’re doing. They’ve been around the block for a while.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
