We're now totally caught up on recent Hellos, which means it's time to backtrack and give a Hello to a player we missed  earlier in the cycle: Hogan Hansen. The 4* TE from Bellevue, WA, committed to Michigan on December 8, 2022, which is when the recruiting focus was all trained on more pressing targets. When the spotlight shifted to 2024, we forgot we owed Hansen a Hello and it slipped through the cracks. But after combing through the content for last week's podcast, it came back to my attention, so let's give the other TE in the '24 class the welcome post he deserves: 

 

GURU RATINGS 

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'6/220	On3: 6'3/230	Rivals: 6'5/210	ESPN: 6'6/220
4*, 92, #107 Ovr #10 TE, #2 WA	4*, 91, #228 Ovr #16 TE, #3 WA	4*, 5.8, NR Ovr #27 TE, #4 WA	4*, 81, #285 Ovr #16 TE-H, #4 WA
4.29	4.05	3.87	4.04
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
4*, 0.9215, #199 Ovr #12 TE, #3 WA	4*, 91.79, #171 Ovr #14 TE, #3 WA	4*, #330/798 Ovr #14/52 TEs since 1990
4.22	4.18	4.08

Hansen is a highly rated recruit, inside the top 200 of both the 247 Composite and the On3 Consensus ranking. 247 is the highest on Hansen, slotting him at 107th nationally, which is a pretty nice indicator. On3 and ESPN both have Hansen in that 200-300 range, while Rivals is the most bearish. The result is Hansen being rated as a top 15 TE prospect in the country and the 14th best TE recruit Michigan has gotten since 1990 according to our database. There is a bit of a discrepancy in the measurables listed in the table, as Hansen is still at 6'3 on On3, whereas he's 6'5 or 6'6 elsewhere. Not sure what the cause of that issue is but the hunch is recency. The disagreements about weight are much more normal, between 210 and 230 depending on site. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: this guy sounds like a Michigan TE to me]

 

SCOUTING 

At the time Hansen committed to Michigan, there was some scouting but not a massive abundance of it. He was just finishing up his junior season and attention was on the 2023 class. On3 in particular devoted itself to outsourcing scouting at the time to people close to Hansen, his coach, trainer, etc. Since then, we've begun to get some scouting reports filling in the cracks. Touch The Banner took a look at Hansen at the time but didn't give him a rating. The written report was decently promising, though: 

Hansen is a tall, lanky athlete at this point who has a lot of room to fill out in the coming years. He has good speed and runs with a nice body lean ... is speed is enough to stretch the field vertically against high school teams, and he does a nice job of adjusting to balls thrown over his shoulder and using his hands to snag the football

As is often the case with HS tight ends, there are some blocking things to clean up: 

There may need to be more of an emphasis on putting his hand in the dirt and learning to block ... His blocking will need to improve, and he will have to widen his base

TTB came away seemingly positive on the overall profile but did cite bulking up as the other issue besides blocking technique. Though blocking often comes up as an area of improvement in Hansen scouting reports, it is frequently tied to the issue of physical strength, because Hansen gets quite a bit of experience blocking for his HS team. They primarily run the Wing T, which On3's interview with Hansen's trainer pointed out ($):  

They are limitations in the scheme that he’s in (at his high school), but you’ve seen on the 7on7 circuit where he absolutely dominated. 

The trainer sees a lot of room for growth with Hansen given his athletic potential and thinks he's got the right makeup to get there: 

I think Hogan is a 6-foot-6 and 230-pound freakish athlete who has barely even scratched the surface yet ... So there’s going to be much growth that’ll happen for him. He’s just consistent. As a person, he’s a good kid. He’s someone who you don’t have to worry about

Likewise, the interview with Hansen's coach tells a pretty epic That Dawg In Him story ($): 

So we’re in the fourth quarter, (Yelm High) was driving down on us, got to their 40-yard line, and Hogan is puking on the play. The ref sees it, blows the clock dead, and brings Hogan off the field. It’s like something from a movie. The crowd was like ’OHHHHH!!’ every time he’s visibly throwing up. So he goes to get water and is back out there to end the drive, which (Yelm) unfortunately scored. Fast forward and we get the ball back. Mind you, Hogan played at least 100 snaps at that point and we get the ball back with increment amount of time left. Our quarterback then throws a Hail Mary to the middle of the field, Hogan jumps up against two defenders, and catches the ball. 

As you may be able to glean from that paragraph, Hansen does not just play TE, he also suits up at EDGE for Bellevue. 247's Brandon Huffman wrote about back in September 2022: 

But Hansen makes such a big impact defensively too, drawing double and even some triple teams to allow other players in the front seven to end plays ... With all of his offers to play tight end, Hansen's future is clearly on offense, but he makes a big impression from his edge spot

Huffman also praised Hansen's blocking at the HS level: 

Hansen does what you want a tight end in a run-heavy offense- he opens holes, he seals off the edge when necessary and helps his back get yards when they need his block. But since it is a heavy ground game, he won't ever get the targets or touches other tight ends in the region will get

Lucas Reimink of New Rivals put together a scouting report on Hansen ($) that marries the opinions of Huffman (praising the blocking) and TTB (saying it needs to improve): 

He has a good physicality/mentality about blocking, where he looks to punish the opposing player and move him off the LOS. He also has good pad level to be able to move defenders off the ball ... However, he does have only marginal physical strength, which can definitely be improved upon in college, so while he is a solid blocker right now the lack of physical strength at the Point of Attack holds him back from being a good blocker

In other words, Hansen is a strong blocker right now at the HS level, but needs to add weight in order to succeed at the collegiate level. Reimink does like the profile of Hansen as a receiver, but sees some coachable areas to clean up that may be related to not running as many routes on a run-heavy team: 

In the pass game, Hansen is still somewhat raw ... When he does run routes though, he showcases good foot speed, good agility, and good COD to create separation throughout his routes against most LB’s and Safeties. To take the next step, he will need to improve upon his route running, as he has a tendency to round off his routes instead of making sharp cuts to ensure he gets as much separation as possible. 

As for comparables, TTB threw out Tyler Ecker in his write up, if you're looking for a late Carr era throwback. Hansen himself said that Grant Newsome identified a certain someone on the current team ($): 

“One of the things that Coach Newsome said to me was that I have the same build as Colston Loveland,” Hansen said. ”So he relates me a lot to Colston and his style of play. It shows that Michigan knows how to recruit and where to go to do that.”

It does somewhat feel like Loveland should be in Mo Hurst territory of "you can't compare any recruits to him" given how good he was as a true freshman, brought to my attention because Michigan wants to compare every leapy high ceiling TE prospect to Loveland now. One final thing about all the scouting reports I read through: everyone interviewed in Hogan's camp loves Grant Newsome. No surprise, but nice to see. 

OFFERS 

Hansen doesn't have as many offers as you'd expect for a recruit of his caliber, but that's largely due to an early commitment and a kid who isn't terribly interested in the recruiting process ($). The perceived top suitors at the time of his commitment were Washington, Oregon, Stanford, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Michigan, with the Huskies holding the most non-Michigan predictions (no surprise there). Hansen also had offers from Arizona, Colorado, Wazzu, Oregon State, and Arizona State out of the PAC-12, plus a few national schools on the eastern side of the country, PSU, Miami, Florida, and Tennessee (as well as Arkansas and MSU). 

One note: Hansen did unofficially visit Miami back in April but there has been no buzz about him reconsidering his commitment since then. He was back at Michigan in June for Victor's Weekend and continues to give quotes about his closed recruitment so it seems like he is locked in, but wanted to get that Miami visit on the record. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Hogan Hansen plays for Bellevue HS, in Bellevue, Washington. For those unfamiliar, Bellevue is across Lake Washington from Seattle, nested with King County, and it has a population exceeding 150,000 in the most recent census. It's a part of the Seattle metro area and may or may not be considered a suburb of Seattle, depending on who you talk to. Bellevue HS is a decent sized public school, over 1,500 students, one of four main public high schools in the city. One fun note: Bellevue's mascot is also a Wolverine. 

As for its football program, Bellevue has been a known powerhouse in Washington for some time, albeit one that has gotten itself in some controversy. Under the leadership of head coach Butch Goncharoff, Bellevue dominated HS football at the 3A level in Washington, winning state title after state title in the 2000s, a period that included a 67 game win streak(!). The run of success continued into the mid-2010s and along the way they were pumping out players like Pro Bowl G David DeCastro, All-Pro S Budda Baker, UCLA star EDGE Myles Jack, and Boise State star C Marcus Henry [they also produced Stephen Schilling during this period, who you may remember at Michigan as a multi-year OL starter during the Rich Rod era, the only returning starter on the 2008 offense]. 

Unfortunately, the glory of Bellevue's dynasty came crashing down when scandal unfolded. They were sanctioned in 2016 for violations surrounding forged addresses and boosters paying players to play for Bellevue... a typical HS football scandal. The sanctions included a four year postseason ban and further restrictions on which games could be scheduled. Goncharoff was fired by the school, but they ended up being able to lower some of the punishments, getting reinstated for postseason play in exchange for vacating state titles in 2012 and 2013.

The result was that Bellevue was able to return to top notch status rather quickly, going 12-1 in 2018 (losing in the playoffs though) and in 2021, they finished off a 14-0 season and won the 3A state title again. Last season was a step back at 9-3, but on the whole, the HS program Hansen plays for is still a very good one, competitive in the state despite the scandals. And though Goncharoff is gone, they still run his Wing T offense comprising the majority of their playbook. 

STATS 

No stats listed anywhere for Hansen. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

Have not found a 40 time for Hansen.

VIDEO 

The most recent highlight compilation features mid-season highlights from his junior season: 

More on his Hudl page, including basketball highlights. 

ETC 

Also a basketball player. Hansen trains with Ford Sports Performance in Washington, whose Director of Development Marcus Griffin is close friends with Michigan Director of Recruiting Albert Karschina. No relation to Louis Hansen. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

The most striking thing about breaking down Hogan Hansen as a prospect is how similar he is to Brady Prieskorn, Michigan's other TE commit for the 2024 class. Both are likely between 6'5" and 6'6", both are basketball players in addition to football, both play in run-heavy HS programs (Rochester Adams is a triple option team) so they have some natural experience blocking, and both are seen as long, athletic players who will need to fill out. While I previously was naysaying Loveland comparisons, I will admit that from a thousand foot view they are similar molds to Loveland himself. Seth made the point on the podcast which is correct here; both Hansen and Prieskorn are the sorts of TE prospects Michigan goes after whether they're ranked as 3*s or as blue chip prospects. The reason Michigan is walking away from the 2024 class with a mega haul at the position is because the sort of players they were going to recruit anyway happened to both be top 200 kids rather than an Idaho dark horse. 

The TE depth chart will be quite crowded when Prieskorn and Hansen arrive, which allow them time to be properly coached up and Herbertized. Every TE on the depth chart for 2023 has eligibility for 2024, so in theory none have to leave. I'd think AJ Barner probably goes if he has a good season, while Loveland is mandated to stay another season due to NFL Draft eligibility rules. So he will be atop the depth chart for '24, with either Barner or Matt Hibner next. Max Bredeson will likely still be around in his role, while the likes of Deakon Tonielli and Zack Marshall will be coming off their presumed RS year. If one of Hansen or Prieskorn are extremely good right away, Michigan will find a way to put them on the field. But more than likely, they will redshirt in 2024 and then look to contribute down the line once Loveland leaves and the position becomes more wide open. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

A bit hard to do this part of the post 8 months late. With Hansen and Brady Prieskorn on board, Michigan's TE class for 2024 is set, as most of Michigan's 2024 class is. Hard to complain about two 4* TEs, both of which are in the top 200. The best TE class in America in 2024. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jadyn Davis	NC	4.6⬇⬇	Smooth, accurate field general
RB	Jordan Marshall	OH	4.5⬆	Accelerates South-North
RB	Micah Ka'apana	NV	3.7⬆⬆	Well-balanced accelerator
WR	I'Marion Stewart	IL	3.9⬇	Ronnie slick/quick, #1 WR to M
WR	Channing Goodwin	NC	3.8	Chain-moving son of Jon
TE	Brady Prieskorn	MI	4.4	Colston Loveland Midwest
TE	Hogan Hansen	WA	4.1	Colston Loveland West
LT	Andrew Sprague	MO	4.2⬆	Basketballin' grow-a-Long
RT	Blake Frazier	TX	4.2⬆⬆	Athletic son of Steve
RG	Luke Hamilton	OH	4.0	Midwestern mauler
LG	Ben Roebuck	OH	3.8⬇⬇	Bigger Midwestern mauler
C	Jake Guarnera	FL	3.8	Mauler but center
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Manuel Beigel	CT	3.5	Lengthy German via Choate
DT	Owen Wafle	NJ	4.0⬇	Little nose with bite
DT	Ted Hammond	OH	4.0	Cincy build-a-bear
DT/DE	Jerod Smith	CT	4.0⬆	Low-pads, high-motor big twin
SDE	Dominic Nichols	MD	3.8⬇	Mike Morris-ish SDE
WDE	Jacob Smith	CT	4.0	Tweener edge twin
WDE	Devon Baxter	MD	3.8⬆⬆	Super long 4-3 grow-an-edge.
OLB	Elias Rudolph	FL	4.0⬆	Former Ohian OLB type
LB	Mason Curtis	TN	4.2⬆	Long athlete moving up
LB	Jeremiah Beasley	MI	4.0⬇	Explosive hitter from Belleville
LB	Jaden Smith	NC	4.0⬆⬆⬆	Underscouted Uche/WLB
HSP	Cole Sullivan	PA	3.8⬆	Hybrid LB with crazy athleticism
S	Jacob Oden	MI	4.1	Tall son of coach