Against UTEP, Hayden Hansen Showed Why He Can Be Oklahoma’s Safety Net

NORMAN — With enough time, every old fishing tale gets a little more magnificent.

The four-pound largemouth bass your uncle caught as a teenager becomes an eight- or nine-pound monster that nearly dislocated his shoulder when he reeled it in.

Unfortunately for Hayden Hansen, Oklahoma's 51-0 beatdown of UTEP was merely days ago. Not enough time to embellish plays. But that didn't stop him from doing it on Monday when asked about his only catch from last Friday's season opener.

"Oh, it was awesome," Hansen said. "You know, it was also 3rd-and-15, so it's kind of pressure-filled."

Hansen isn't completely wrong about his recollection. It was a third down, and it was about as pressure-filled a moment OU's first team offense found itself in against the out-manned Miners. But it was not a 3rd-and-15, it was a 3rd-and-five.

Oklahoma's new tight end can be forgiven not remembering the distance to gain. Hansen is as charismatic as he is massive, his 6-foot-8 frame matched by a joyous aura.

The catch went for 15 yards, but more importantly, it showed that under some pressure, John Mateer went to his big tight end to move the chains. That's something Hansen hoped he could bring to the table in addition to his superb run-blocking skills.

"I try to build just the best security blanket in the world basically," Hansen said during Oklahoma's Media Day in early August. "If you're rolling out and going through your reads and you're like, “Dang, everyone's covered,” just go find the 6-8 giant. I'm there somewhere."

That's exactly what happened on that play against UTEP. Mateer looked to his right for Isaiah Sategna, who was closely guarded by a cornerback. He then snapped his head forward looking for a second option as safety Kode Lowe was blitzing hard. Xavier Robinson provided Mateer just enough time to see that "6-8 giant" running across the middle of the field.

Mateer's arm was hit as he threw, but he got enough arm under the pass to get the ball into Hansen's grasp for the first down. Just as Hansen envisioned when he came to Oklahoma.

"You catch it, you kind of just hear the crowd kind of, [sighs]," Hansen said on Monday. "I kind of relax. So, it was a nice first catch for sure."

Mateer shared the ball with seven different pass catchers against UTEP. The hope is that level of balance can continue as the Sooners prep for a big road game against Michigan. Everyone knows that Sategna is great and now knows what Trell Harris adds to the equation.

Now, Hansen can keep trying to be the security blanket for his quarterback when the situation arises. No matter if its 3rd-and-five or 3rd-and-15.

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