Colorado University Athletics
Hansen Named CU Starting Quarterback
BOULDER - As expected, senior Tyler Hansen has been named starting quarterback for this fall for the University of Colorado, head coach Jon Embree announced Tuesday afternoon.
Hansen, named the team's Joe Romig Award winner as the top senior-to-be following spring practice, had a passer rating of 188.9 in the three main spring scrimmages. He completed nearly 74 percent of his passes (39 of 53) for 531 yards and five touchdowns - with no interceptions - in those sessions. He had four rushes for 37 yards, as he ran the ball much less than earlier his career, and also avoided taking any sacks.
"Tyler did a great job all spring," Embree said. "He has command of everything you need to have at quarterback and has also developed into a team leader. This was a goal of his heading into the spring and I'm happy that he was able to attain that goal."
The 6-1, 210-pound three-year letterman from Murietta, Calif., was named CU's starter prior to the start of last season, but had his year cut short when he suffered a ruptured spleen against Texas Tech in the seventh game. He had completed 112-of-164 passes for 1,102 yards, with six touchdowns and six interceptions and a 129.5 rating. His completion percentage of 68.3 set a school record for minimums of both 100 and 150 passes in a single season, breaking the old mark of 65.1 by Joel Klatt in 2003; Klatt still owns the marks for minimums of 200 and 250 throws. Hansen's 2,822 career yards rank 11th all-time at Colorado.
"I'm excited about the challenge," Hansen said. "I'm looking forward to getting into more of a leadership role in the summer, getting even more familiar with the playbook, organizing the seven-on-seven sessions, and concentrating on our first and foremost goal to beat Hawai'i (CU's season opener on Sept. 3 in Honolulu). 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."
"I thought that he grew a lot faster with the offense than I had anticipated," quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer said. "He had a solid performance for the most part starting from day one through day 15 in spring practice, and he really gives us a chance at quarterback.
"I'm also really pleased with the depth at the position with Nick (Hirschman)," Scherer added. "He's improved steadily throughout the spring and finished on a positive note. I expect him to keep pushing Tyler, which is exactly what we as coaches want to see."
Hirschman, a redshirt freshman, completed 22 of 43 passes for 274 yards and three scores in the three scrums, a rating of 127.7; he also did not throw an interception.
Embree also announced that five players will not be returning to the team this fall, including two for medical reasons, senior offensive guard Max Tuioti-Mariner and junior receiver Will Jefferson. Both have knee injuries, and in Tuioti-Mariner's case, he has undergone multiple surgeries that has prevented him from playing since early in the 2008 season, when he had worked his way into the starting lineup prior to tearing an ACL in practice after just three games.
Junior defensive end Forrest West and redshirt freshmen tight ends Henley Griffon and Harold Mobley will also not return.
Jefferson saw action at both receiver and running back in 2010, catching 14 passes for 177 yards and one touchdown, while rushing 23 times for 137 yards in playing in all 12 games. West had 19 tackles, including five-and-a-half sacks in 258 plays a year ago, appearing in 11 games.
Embree did not want to elaborate on the details other than to say that, "They won't be invited back to be part of the program in the fall. We will work with them to see if we can place them elsewhere."