Redshirt freshmen tight end Hayden Hansen is making an impact for the Gators in his second year at Florida, recording six receptions for 44 yards and two touchdowns through eight games. The 6-6, 265 pounder has primarily served as Florida’s primarily blocking tight end across his 291 snaps, the most by a Gators’ tight end in 2023. Hansen has been used as a blocker in 195 of his 291 snaps this season.
The Texas native and former high school quarterback had plans of playing QB at the collegiate level before scouts and coaches encouraged him to play tight end at the start of his junior season. Hansen’s plan was to take over for Vanderbilt QB Ken Seals.
“I never expected to not play quarterback,” Hansen said during Monday’s press conference. “My parents sacrificed a lot for it, I sacrificed a lot for it. The countless private lessons outside the sport. I never envisioned anything else.”
Head Coach Billy Napier had his eye on Hansen from his coaching days at Louisiana, where Napier extended an offer to Hansen on June 14th, 2021, just the third division one offer for the Weatherford HS product.
“The biggest thing for me is proving Napier right,” Hansen said on his recruitment. “He stuck his neck out for me at two schools. To bring me here with him was a huge honor. To play and show you guys I can do it, to prove him right overall is the best thing for me.”
Napier saw raw talent in Hansen, who was new to the tight end position.
“What he told me was he liked that I came from a blue-collar background. He knew I worked hard. He knew I had the frame for it. Watching my film, he saw my big suction cup hands is what he said. He said he knows it’s raw. I agree with him. Junior year I was trying to figure it out on the film. Senior year I took a huge jump, new coach, new system. So he just saw a lot of potential there. He knew once I put it all together, I’d be a better player,” Hansen said on what Napier saw in him.
Napier also won over Hansen’s family, which played a big factor in his recruitment.
“My mom loves Coach Napier. He did a great job bonding with my family. My sister really likes him, too,” Hansen said. “Back at UO, they do the same thing here, summer cookout going into my senior year. We went up there right before I committed. That sealed the deal. My dad was, This is the guy you need to play for. Great program for tight ends. Johnny Lumpkin that went to the Patriots, I was really close to him when I committed there.”
In 2022, Hansen did not appear in any games and redshirted.
“It’s been a dream come true. I worked so hard for this,” Hansen said on redshirting his first season. “No one wants to redshirt. I kind of knew coming in I was going to redshirt, a big learning curve. Just to put all that work together.”
Hansen’s transition into college wasn’t easy, but the skills he gained playing QB in HS helped him in multiple areas at tight end.
“Especially in coverages, but surprisingly even more in blocking,” Hansen said. “Just, like, IDing the front. If I do a read route, I can see what the safeties are doing pre-snap, capped, I see a quarter looking in, I know a blitz is coming. Just a lot of stuff like that.”
Tight end coach Russ Callaway has played a significant role in the development of Hansen, specifically in the passing game.
“I love that dude, man. He’s awesome,” Hansen said on Callaway. “When he came in, he took a liking to me and Arlis right away. He knew we were going to be a little bit behind because we didn’t play much last year. Once he kind of instilled the offense in us in the spring, we got to play a lot faster. We saw a big jump in our productivity.”
“He’s helped me on the signals in the pass game. That’s what I was behind on,” Hansen added. “Splits-wise. Lining up outside receiver. I’m automatic on that now. I’m grateful for him, for sure.”
Hansen has made a noticeable improvement with his catch passing ability since last spring.
“I’ve never really had problems with them except for this last spring, I kind of had a couple fundamental issues. But I got it fixed for the most part. I’m just going to continue to get better with it every day,” Hansen said on his hands.
In just his second season at the collegiate level, Hansen has settled into a large role for the 2023 Florida Gators. Hansen has established a great relationship with redshirt freshmen tight end Arlis Boardingham, who has worked alongside him this season.
“It’s awesome. It’s kind of rare you see a Texas-California bond,” Hansen said on his relationship with Boardingham. “We’re both very different tight ends. We both know our strengths and weaknesses. We play very well together. People don’t know what they’re going to get when we’re on the field at the same time.”
Tight ends Hayden Hansen and Arlis Boardingham appear to be the pairing that Napier and his staff will move forward with for the final four games of the 2023 regular season.