2 weeks Ago By Lansing State Journal
The day before his pro day last month, Michigan State defensive lineman Maverick Hansen got a call from the school’s director of recruiting, Michael Doctor, telling him one NFL team – the Indianapolis Colts – was interested in seeing him work out as an offensive lineman.A standout two-way player in high school, Hansen received most of his recruiting interest as an offensive tackle out of Farmington Hills Harrison but signed with Michigan State to play defense when his dream school made a late scholarship offer on that side of the ball.He played exclusively defensive tackle at MSU, aside from a few scout-team offensive line reps early in his career, but he did do some offensive line training during his pro day prep after his agent caught wind of a few teams’ interest in having him switch positions.
More: 3 predictions for Detroit Lions, Brad Holmes in NFL draft: Pass rusher at 28? Trade down?When Hansen hung up the phone, he thought to himself, “Holy smokes, this is crazy. This is really happening.”“(My agent) did tell me that there was a couple teams that were talking about it,” Hansen said.
“But for them to actually call Doc and tell him, ‘Hey, let's see him running offense,’ was kind of crazy. I was like, ‘Wow.’”At pro day, Hansen did combine testing with MSU’s other prospects – he did 31 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, which would have been best among defensive tackles at the combine – then went straight from offensive to defensive line position drills.
He was gassed by the time he finished his defensive work. But with 24 NFL teams in attendance, more than anything he was appreciative of the opportunity.“I'm an extremely hard worker and if they tell me what to do.
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I'll work super hard at it and do my best to master it as fast as I can to be able to execute,” Hansen said. “I'm not stuck to only wanting to play left or right or offense or defense. "I mean, obviously I would like to play defensive line just because I've been doing that, but if it's required of me to play offense, I'll do that.
”ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. called Hansen a “down-the-line guy” in a deep draft at defensive tackle and said he likely will have to make his way onto an NFL roster as an undrafted free agent.That likely would be the path he’d have to travel as a developmental offensive prospect, too, which is nothing new for a player who’s already encountered plenty of obstacles in his career.
Hansen made 11 starts and appeared in 53 games at Michigan State while playing for three different coaches over six years, including a Covid season.He redshirted in 2019, Mark Dantonio’s final season at the school. He played as a backup during the Covid season of 2020, after Mel Tucker took over as coach.
He made his first three starts a year later. And by last season, in Jonathan Smith’s first year as coach, he was voted a team captain.Along the way, he lost his father to a heart attack after a long battle with diabetes in December 2022.
“I love Michigan State more than anything, so I always dreamed of going there and the fact that I had the respect for my teammates that they voted me No. 1 captain overall was extremely important to me,” Hansen said. “I cherished that because obviously I poured my heart and soul into the program and I might not have started every game or been looked at a superstar or anything like that.
"But I was out there giving my all the whole time and I would literally, I was basically putting my life on the line out there every day.”Hansen said he was so overwhelmed by emotion when he was named captain that he called to share the news with his mother, who he credits for his work ethic and for finally giving into his demands to play football when he was 12.“I did lie about playing football (when I was young) cause I was big and I would just be like, ‘Yeah, I play for Brighton,’ cause my dad lived there, even though I didn't,” he said.
“I was begging my mom to put me on football and she just wasn't going for it until I was about 12 and my stepdad, Andre, was like, ‘Hey, he needs to play football, man. He's way bigger than all these other kids.’”At 6 feet 4 and 295 pounds, Hansen still is bigger than most, which is why some teams may give him a look at offensive line.
He projects as a guard at that side of the ball, and after working out at pro day said, “I feel like I could still put on a 70s number and go hit somebody.”“I feel like this is a huge opportunity for me and it means a lot to me just to be on the radar and thought of as an NFL prospect,” Hansen said. “Like I said, I'm a super hard worker and whatever they need me to do, I'll do at the best of my capability.
"So if they can find a way to use me and show me the way to be used in that way, then I'll do it.”Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here.
Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MSU DT Maverick Hansen could have 'huge opportunity' in NFL on offense.
