Caleb Hanie
Caleb Hanie
Caleb Hanie does have a strong arm and a quick release and he throws a very tight spiral. All of those attributes were certainly evident Friday during the first practice of rookie minicamp. He’s a drop-back passer and not a scrambler, but he’s athletic enough to keep plays alive with his feet. In terms of weaknesses, Hanie has been known to try to force passes into coverage. But that may have to do more with trying to do too much while not having a very strong supporting cast around him at Colorado State. As a senior last year, Hanie completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,455 yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. 3
Heading into his freshman campaign, Hanie drew comparisons to former Ram quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt–now the No. quarterback with the Denver Broncos–due to his mobility and beefy build. But, Hanie?s passing skills were much more polished than Van Pelt?s in his first year with the Rams. Van Pelt, who played in 11 games in 2001, completed 94 of 194 pass attempts for 1247 yards and 8 touchdowns (with 10 interceptions). Hanie achieved similar numbers, despite only appearing in seven games (and attempting a pass in only six of those). He completed 85 of 147 passes for 1204 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions last year. 6
Hanie, of course, said he is competing for the starting job, and certainly he has earned the right to do so. In the first significant action of his career last season, Hanie entered in the first quarter of the sixth game of the season vs. San Diego State last year to take over for Holland. He followed that up with an adequate performance in a 30-7 thrashing of rival Wyoming. The Rams went on to a disappointing 4-7 season, but Hanie led the team to three of those wins and had many bright spots, including 285 yards passing and two touchdowns against bowl-bound New Mexico, two touchdown passes and a 48-yard touchdown run against undefeated Mountain West Conference champion Utah, and 211 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-10 win over UNLV. 4
But, after beating out all other quarterbacks for the No. spot, earning the right to take over for Justin Holland in the sixth game of the year after Holland broke his ankle, Hanie returned as a sophomore for his second media day last week and found himself answering may of the same questions he received a year before. As eventful as his first year as a Ram has been, he finds himself in just about the same position he was in last year–a backup. 2
Had really high hopes for Hanie as he was highly regarded coming out of high school in TX. CSU has had some very good QB’s the past decade +, but Hanie wasn’t really anything but average. 8
If anything, Hanie provides coaches the comfort of knowing they have an experienced backup in case Holland suffers another injury this season. But, more importantly, Hanie?s freshman success translates into competition, and ultimately improvement from Holland this season. 7
New Search
Hanie and Hill will compete with Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, both of whom served as starters with the Bears in 2007. That’s a situation where an unheralded young guy might really have a chance to break in and play…because, you know, Grossman and Orton both suck ass. 5
