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Hansen headed to Pac-10 school

Chase Hansen's father played at BYU but the Highland (Utah) Lone Peak wanted to go his own way and after evaluating all his options - he had offers from Utah, BYU and Utah State - the four-star prospect decided the Utes were the best fit and he said he's happy to be finished with the recruiting process.
Hansen said he called Utah's coaching staff Thursday night to commit.
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"It was a long process for me," Hansen said. "There was a point where I had no idea what I was going to do and I was stressed about it all. It was almost a burden and it got a little crazy at one point.
"Eventually, I narrowed it down to the two in-state schools, BYU and Utah, and I realized that I wanted to stay closer to home and once I realized that this last week I sat down and decided I wanted to make a decision. I wanted to make it before the season and I felt this was the perfect week."
The decision was not easy for Hansen, a 6-foot-3, 197-pound athlete who took numerous visits to Utah and was clearly familiar with the BYU program as well. After much deliberation, Hansen decided that the Utes were the best fit for many reasons including the coaching staff, playing in the Pac-10 and at the end it was where he felt most comfortable.
"I thought about it a lot and I was fortunate enough to have a bunch of amazing people around me and they're concerned about my interests and they really helped me make the decision for myself," Hansen said. "That was something I struggled with.
"A lot of people assumed BYU or even Stanford was where I should go or I should be but I was up at Utah for a couple days and I visited with them a while back and there is nothing like the coaching staff, the excitement up there, the direction they're heading not only with the Pac-10 but the university in general. I felt like it was perfect for me."
The coaching staff especially stood out. Hansen, rated No. 233 in the 2012 class by Rivals.com, hit it off with coach Kyle Whittingham, offensive coordinator Norm Chow and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson.
"Coach Whittingham is an amazing guy, not just him but the other coaches," Hansen said.
"They had a big influence on my decision. I came to a point where I felt it was perfect and there was nowhere else I'd rather go. Either way my decision wouldn't have been a wrong decision which made it harder but I think Utah is perfect and I'm extremely excited about it."
Hansen is also excited that he'll play quarterback there.
Stanford reportedly told the Lone Peak standout an offer was available but only to play defense and others wanted to bring him in as an athlete. Quarterback is his preference but Hansen said in college if that position doesn't work out he's more than willing to move to defense.
"I'm going there as a quarterback and I'll be able to work with coach Chow and coach Johnson," Hansen said.
"The worst-case scenario is I don't do so well at quarterback and I play defense at that level. I still think it would be awesome and I'd be excited about it. Either way, I'm ready to go."
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