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Q&A: Trey Hansen Said Playing for Gophers is a Dream Come True
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/467188?referrer_id=
Trey Hansen, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior from Cedar Rapids (IA) High, will be a preferred walk-on as a long snapper next season at Minnesota and will make his official visit this weekend.
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Hansen to learn the latest on his decision.
Gopher Hole: I noticed that you have a 612 area code phone number. How come?
Trey Hansen: I moved down to Iowa from Becker, Minnesota before my junior year.
Gopher Hole: How come you moved down to Iowa?
Trey Hansen: My family is from here. I was here, actually. I moved to Minnesota when I was about six weeks old and then my sister graduated and my folks wanted to move to a bigger school and we had the chance to move back home.
Gopher Hole: Did you go to Becker High School then?
Trey Hansen: I used to go to Becker High School, yes.
Gopher Hole: Becker also has a great football tradition.
Trey Hansen: Yes, they do and Coach Lundeen is a great guy.
Gopher Hole: You committed to Minnesota as a preferred walk-on. You were also looking at Texas Tech. Was it down to those two schools when you made your decision?
Trey Hansen: I had Nebraska early, but they had a coaching change and that kind of ended. It was down to Texas Tech and Minnesota and I just felt that I am from Minnesota, so it has been my dream school. They were leading most of the way and Texas Tech tried pushing it. They called me last weekend to ask what my interest was and tried to push me and know what I wanted to do and I decided Minnesota was where I wanted to be.
Gopher Hole: You are visiting Minnesota this weekend, right?
Trey Hansen: Correct.
Gopher Hole: What are you expecting to get out of that visit?
Trey Hansen: I have a pretty good relationship with Coach (Jay) Nunez and I am excited just to see more of the campus and the campus life, because I have just been around the games. I don't really know that much about the school, so I'll see about that and just meet the players and hang out, so I am excited,
Gopher Hole: Did you have a chance to go to any of the games this fall?
Trey Hansen: Yes. I went to the Ohio State game and the Purdue game.
Gopher Hole: Did you go to many camps this past summer?
Trey Hansen: I did. I went to Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Minnesota and I went to the National Scholarship Camp for Kohl's, so I did a lot of specialist's camp in the Big Ten.
Gopher Hole: How did the Gophers first find out about you? Was it through their camp or the Kohl's stuff that you had been doing?
Trey Hansen: Actually, before my sophomore year, I went to the Gophers' camp as a quarterback and I snapped after camp, so they knew about me and I really reached out over the summer and went to their camp and had a pretty good week and I have stayed in contact ever since.
Gopher Hole: You spent most of your life in Minnesota. What will it mean to play for the Gophers?
Trey Hansen: It is a dream come true, literally. I like the way that the program is going under Coach Kill. He is a great guy. I got to speak on the phone with him last Friday. That was pretty cool. I decided to play for Minnesota and keep the winning going the way it has been going the past couple of years.
Gopher Hole: Did you know that you were going to be committing to Minnesota or had you planned on taking a couple of visits first?
Trey Hansen: I had talked to my family and they were pretty impartial and we were originally going to wait after Texas Tech because we were going to take a visit and then decide and I told that to Coach Nunez and he was okay with that, but Texas Tech was pushing me and I just didn't think that it was fair on Texas Tech to wait for me when I knew that I wanted to be Minnesota all along. I knew what they were all about. Waiting was still an option, but I just wanted to get it over with it.
Gopher Hole: What positions did you play for Cedar Falls this year?
Trey Hansen: I started at weak safety and quarterback.
Gopher Hole: You don't see many quarterbacks, to be honest, being long snappers.
Trey Hansen: No, you don't see that too often.
Gopher Hole: How did you get into that?
Trey Hansen: I have wanted to play quarterback all my life and before my freshman year, our defensive line coach from Becker went to a coaching clinic and talked to someone about long snapping. My goal was to find my way on the football field as a freshman and so I picked up long snapping before my freshman year and practiced and started as a freshman as a long snapper. I played JV quarterback and as a sophomore, I played linebacker and long snapper and then I moved out here and played quarterback and long snapper, so I have played other positions besides long snapper since my freshman year.
Gopher Hole: Did your dad coach down in Cedar Falls, too?
Trey Hansen: He did not.
Gopher Hole: Unfortunately, to be honest, long snapping is kind of a thankless job. You don't really notice the long snapper unless they screw up. Is that something you think of as well?
Trey Hansen: Yes. I am okay with my name not being known throughout my college career. That means I didn't make any mistakes. I have read some comments from some people about a snapper's highlights and laughing about it, but it is a position that nobody thinks about until there is a mistake. You just have to do your job well and no worries.
Gopher Hole: You do see, to be honest, in a lot of big games that long snapping can be the difference between a win or a loss.
Trey Hansen: Yes. It can make or break a team. Minnesota is known for their special teams and Jay does a great job with their specialists and coaching them up, so I am excited for him to coach me.
Gopher Hole: Do you play any other sports besides football at Cedar Falls?
Trey Hansen: I do not. I used to play basketball at Becker¸ but I didn't here.
Gopher Hole: What has been the reaction of your friends and family so far since you committed to Minnesota?
Trey Hansen: They have been really happy for me. They have known that I wanted to go there. It was my dream. They have been very supportive. I'll be in the Cities and they have my major.
Gopher Hole: What do you plan on majoring in?
Trey Hansen: I am looking at Sports Management. I find that interesting.
Gopher Hole: Do you have a lot of relatives here in Minnesota or are most of your relatives down in Iowa?
Trey Hansen: Everyone is from Iowa. It was kind of a big thing when we moved up there.
Gopher Hole: What have they said to you about what your role would be with the team? Would you maybe redshirt as a freshman? Have you talked to them about whether you would be able to play as a freshman?
Trey Hansen: They are having a snapper graduate. He was a short snapper, I think. They had one long snap (for punts) and one short snap (for field goals). Jay said that he thought that I could come in and compete this year for a spot. I mean nothing is guaranteed. If someone comes in and wins the job, I'll give it to them, but I am looking to just come in and work hard and if I can start as freshman, that would be amazing. We'll see what happens. There is no early timeline or anything, but they said it is an open job right now.
Gopher Hole: Is that something you looked at when you were looking at schools, like who had seniors and who might be graduating. Did that play much of a part in your decision?
Trey Hansen: Yes. My dad and I went through quite a bit. We looked all over the country for snappers. Most schools recruit every other year, so they will have a senior and a sophomore or a freshman and a junior. Not every school looks for a snapper and it is kind of crazy that my dream school wanted one, so I got really lucky. Texas Tech was going to have me redshirt because they will have a senior and I would have had a chance to start four years, so it was also a great opportunity down there.
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/467188?referrer_id=
Trey Hansen, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior from Cedar Rapids (IA) High, will be a preferred walk-on as a long snapper next season at Minnesota and will make his official visit this weekend.
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Hansen to learn the latest on his decision.
Gopher Hole: I noticed that you have a 612 area code phone number. How come?
Trey Hansen: I moved down to Iowa from Becker, Minnesota before my junior year.
Gopher Hole: How come you moved down to Iowa?
Trey Hansen: My family is from here. I was here, actually. I moved to Minnesota when I was about six weeks old and then my sister graduated and my folks wanted to move to a bigger school and we had the chance to move back home.
Gopher Hole: Did you go to Becker High School then?
Trey Hansen: I used to go to Becker High School, yes.
Gopher Hole: Becker also has a great football tradition.
Trey Hansen: Yes, they do and Coach Lundeen is a great guy.
Gopher Hole: You committed to Minnesota as a preferred walk-on. You were also looking at Texas Tech. Was it down to those two schools when you made your decision?
Trey Hansen: I had Nebraska early, but they had a coaching change and that kind of ended. It was down to Texas Tech and Minnesota and I just felt that I am from Minnesota, so it has been my dream school. They were leading most of the way and Texas Tech tried pushing it. They called me last weekend to ask what my interest was and tried to push me and know what I wanted to do and I decided Minnesota was where I wanted to be.
Gopher Hole: You are visiting Minnesota this weekend, right?
Trey Hansen: Correct.
Gopher Hole: What are you expecting to get out of that visit?
Trey Hansen: I have a pretty good relationship with Coach (Jay) Nunez and I am excited just to see more of the campus and the campus life, because I have just been around the games. I don't really know that much about the school, so I'll see about that and just meet the players and hang out, so I am excited,
Gopher Hole: Did you have a chance to go to any of the games this fall?
Trey Hansen: Yes. I went to the Ohio State game and the Purdue game.
Gopher Hole: Did you go to many camps this past summer?
Trey Hansen: I did. I went to Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Minnesota and I went to the National Scholarship Camp for Kohl's, so I did a lot of specialist's camp in the Big Ten.
Gopher Hole: How did the Gophers first find out about you? Was it through their camp or the Kohl's stuff that you had been doing?
Trey Hansen: Actually, before my sophomore year, I went to the Gophers' camp as a quarterback and I snapped after camp, so they knew about me and I really reached out over the summer and went to their camp and had a pretty good week and I have stayed in contact ever since.
Gopher Hole: You spent most of your life in Minnesota. What will it mean to play for the Gophers?
Trey Hansen: It is a dream come true, literally. I like the way that the program is going under Coach Kill. He is a great guy. I got to speak on the phone with him last Friday. That was pretty cool. I decided to play for Minnesota and keep the winning going the way it has been going the past couple of years.
Gopher Hole: Did you know that you were going to be committing to Minnesota or had you planned on taking a couple of visits first?
Trey Hansen: I had talked to my family and they were pretty impartial and we were originally going to wait after Texas Tech because we were going to take a visit and then decide and I told that to Coach Nunez and he was okay with that, but Texas Tech was pushing me and I just didn't think that it was fair on Texas Tech to wait for me when I knew that I wanted to be Minnesota all along. I knew what they were all about. Waiting was still an option, but I just wanted to get it over with it.
Gopher Hole: What positions did you play for Cedar Falls this year?
Trey Hansen: I started at weak safety and quarterback.
Gopher Hole: You don't see many quarterbacks, to be honest, being long snappers.
Trey Hansen: No, you don't see that too often.
Gopher Hole: How did you get into that?
Trey Hansen: I have wanted to play quarterback all my life and before my freshman year, our defensive line coach from Becker went to a coaching clinic and talked to someone about long snapping. My goal was to find my way on the football field as a freshman and so I picked up long snapping before my freshman year and practiced and started as a freshman as a long snapper. I played JV quarterback and as a sophomore, I played linebacker and long snapper and then I moved out here and played quarterback and long snapper, so I have played other positions besides long snapper since my freshman year.
Gopher Hole: Did your dad coach down in Cedar Falls, too?
Trey Hansen: He did not.
Gopher Hole: Unfortunately, to be honest, long snapping is kind of a thankless job. You don't really notice the long snapper unless they screw up. Is that something you think of as well?
Trey Hansen: Yes. I am okay with my name not being known throughout my college career. That means I didn't make any mistakes. I have read some comments from some people about a snapper's highlights and laughing about it, but it is a position that nobody thinks about until there is a mistake. You just have to do your job well and no worries.
Gopher Hole: You do see, to be honest, in a lot of big games that long snapping can be the difference between a win or a loss.
Trey Hansen: Yes. It can make or break a team. Minnesota is known for their special teams and Jay does a great job with their specialists and coaching them up, so I am excited for him to coach me.
Gopher Hole: Do you play any other sports besides football at Cedar Falls?
Trey Hansen: I do not. I used to play basketball at Becker¸ but I didn't here.
Gopher Hole: What has been the reaction of your friends and family so far since you committed to Minnesota?
Trey Hansen: They have been really happy for me. They have known that I wanted to go there. It was my dream. They have been very supportive. I'll be in the Cities and they have my major.
Gopher Hole: What do you plan on majoring in?
Trey Hansen: I am looking at Sports Management. I find that interesting.
Gopher Hole: Do you have a lot of relatives here in Minnesota or are most of your relatives down in Iowa?
Trey Hansen: Everyone is from Iowa. It was kind of a big thing when we moved up there.
Gopher Hole: What have they said to you about what your role would be with the team? Would you maybe redshirt as a freshman? Have you talked to them about whether you would be able to play as a freshman?
Trey Hansen: They are having a snapper graduate. He was a short snapper, I think. They had one long snap (for punts) and one short snap (for field goals). Jay said that he thought that I could come in and compete this year for a spot. I mean nothing is guaranteed. If someone comes in and wins the job, I'll give it to them, but I am looking to just come in and work hard and if I can start as freshman, that would be amazing. We'll see what happens. There is no early timeline or anything, but they said it is an open job right now.
Gopher Hole: Is that something you looked at when you were looking at schools, like who had seniors and who might be graduating. Did that play much of a part in your decision?
Trey Hansen: Yes. My dad and I went through quite a bit. We looked all over the country for snappers. Most schools recruit every other year, so they will have a senior and a sophomore or a freshman and a junior. Not every school looks for a snapper and it is kind of crazy that my dream school wanted one, so I got really lucky. Texas Tech was going to have me redshirt because they will have a senior and I would have had a chance to start four years, so it was also a great opportunity down there.
