He’s a playmaker and a competitor. He’s always wanted to improve. And he is improving. He wants to be perfect; that’s just his mentality. – Kyle Whittingham
SALT LAKE CITY — With two-thirds of spring camp still to come, Chase Hansen earned praise and a bit of separation between himself and the pack of backup QBs vying for time behind starter Travis Wilson.
It isn’t much, and it’s definitely still a fluid situation, but for a guy who just came home from serving a two-year LDS mission, it’s encouraging.
“Physically I’m happy where I’m at,” Hansen said after Thursday’s practice, which was the final this spring without pads. “Coming back from a mission, I’m happy I feel like I’m at the same level as the guys on the other side of the ball. However, I feel like I just still need to improve, just throwing from the pocket, being accurate, just learning the offense in general. I am happy to say I feel comfortable running the offense right now.”
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said Hansen had not only pulled ahead of the other backups, but he was performing better than coaches anticipated.
“Travis is still number one, and Kendal (Thompson) is so limited, we don’t really do much of an evaluation on him right now. His big evaluation will come in the fall. But of the other guys, probably have to say Chase is the next guy up. Brandon (Cox) and Connor (Manning) are battling for that next spot. Donovan (Isom) would be next in line.” All of the quarterbacks will get a much better chance to prove themselves in Friday’s full-tackle practice.
“Tomorrow there will be a lot of live reps to be had, so we’ll get another good look at them tomorrow and trim it even further,” Whittingham said.
Only Wilson, who defenders can’t tackle or hit, has secured his spot in spring camp.
“There is quite a separation right now between Travis and the rest of the field,” he said. “So it’s not fluid at the No. 1 spot, but with the other spots, yes.”
Whittingham said it was Hansen’s ability to make plays that helped him move up the depth chart.
“Just making plays in the live work we had on Tuesday,” Whittingham said. “He made things happen. He’s got great leadership skills, and he’s starting to become much more in command of the offense. He hasn’t been around for a couple of years, the terminology and everything is new to him. He’s done a nice job of closing the gap.”
In fact, he praised the Lone Peak High graduate’s ability to “shake the rust off” each day and improve every day.
“He’s just really performed well and has exceeded our expectations to this point,” he said.
He understands why Hansen isn’t always pleased with his own performances.
“He’s a playmaker,” Whittingham said, “and a competitor. He’s always wanted to improve. And he is improving. He wants to be perfect; that’s just his mentality.”
Hansen's assessment of Thursday's practice was positive — with room for him to improve.
"I feel like it was good," he said. "I feel like we're getting better. I personally have a lot to still work on."
The offense, in general, had a much better day Thursday than it did in Tuesday’s first live practice.
“It was a lot cleaner today,” Whittingham said. “We didn’t wear pads today; this was our third and final non-padded practice, but we got a lot done. The offense executed pretty good, weren’t so sharp in the two-minute situation. Other than that, it was a positive day.”
Redshirt freshman receiver Raelon Singleton, who has also earned a lot of praise from coaches throughout spring camp, said he thought the offense was much more in sync Thursday because they played with more enthusiasm.
"We just came with more juice, I guess," he said. "We came with more excitement."
The Utes also got a visit from one of the program's most decorated alums — San Diego Chargers All-Pro safety Eric Weddle. He watched practice from the sideline while offering some encouragement to the team's young defensive players during drills. He also spoke to the team after practice ended admonishing the players to cherish their time together.
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