Christian Hanna, Hard Not to Commit On the Spot
The starting Tight End for the Cleveland Benedictine Bengals has been visiting campuses on game-day and talking with coaches about his college choice. If one school was to offer, it would be hard for him not to commit. (Free Article)
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Christian Hanna, Hard Not to Commit On the Spot
By Steve Patterson
The starting Tight End for the Cleveland Benedictine Bengals has been visiting campuses on game-day and talking with coaches about his college choice. If one school was to offer, it would be hard for him not to commit.
Christian Hanna, the starting Tight End for Cleveland Benedictine, has received a lot of college interest and been in the recruiting spotlight since being a part of the Division III State Title team in 2004. Ohio High Magazine named him the top sophomore Tight End in Ohio his sophomore year. And recruiting specialist, Max Emfinger ranks me as the 7th best Tight End Nationally in the class of 2008. Hanna discussed the keys to his success with us recently. ?I feel that my best attributes are the fact that I am willing to do whatever it takes to win and that I will make sure that my intensity is the highest on the field.?
Hanna enjoys blocking just as much as running routes as he was instrumental in a drive against Gateway High School last season. ?My sophomore season, we went down to Pittsburgh to play Gateway High School in which was my first Varsity start that just happened to be on National Television. I was nervous but after I got the jitters out, we sustained a brutal drive. I had 6 pancake blocks on that drive and we put one in (the end-zone) to go up 10-3.?
For the past few years, a growing number of soon to be seniors tour the mid-west appearing at college summer camps in what has come to be known as the Ted Ginn Sr Bus Tour. Hanna will be a part of that tour this coming summer. ?I did not attend Ohio States camp last season but this season I will make a stop in Columbus on Coach Ted Ginn's Bus Tour.? Many student athletes come away from the bus tour with scholarship offers from numerous schools. Ohio State has been know to like evaluating talent at its own camp and often offers several participants with scholarship offers afterward. For high school players like Hanna, the bus trip is a great opportunity.
In addition to the upcoming bus tour, Hanna has been busy this year visiting campuses during the football season on game-days. ?I have made quite a few visits this year. I went to Pittsburgh twice this season to see them play Rutgers and West Virginia. I was at Akron for a game along with Cincinnati. I went to Chicago to see Northwestern play and I went to Ohio State three times to watch them play Penn State, Cincinnati, and Michigan. So it was quite an experience this past fall.?
When it comes to a college that is right for Hanna, he is looking for tradition and a winning atmosphere. ?I am looking to play at a program that has lots of tradition and shows that they have a commitment towards winning. I just want to play ball and do it at a good football school.?
The interest from colleges continues to grow as schools switch from recruiting almost full 2007 classes to 2008 classes. Hanna shared with us the long list of schools in pursuit of his skills. ?A bunch of schools send me letters and what not. Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Northwestern, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Marshall, Purdue, UCLA, Louisiana State, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Connecticut, North Carolina, Iowa, Syracuse, Wisconsin and more have gotten involved.?
It?s still very early in the recruiting process for these juniors, but Hanna has his list narrowed down to 3 with the assistant of his father who is a University of Virginia alumni. ?The three that I like are Virginia, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. I talk to Coach Garrett from Virginia all the time. They show the most interest and he has talked about an offer with me. Coach Bostad from Wisconsin says he?s got room for quite a few tight ends/h-backs/and fullbacks. Coach Beckman from OSU just is a great guy and I love OSU. I just want to be at a school that wins and one that I can put my trust in the coaches so that they will make me the best player possible. I have no clue what school that would be but I lean towards Virginia. My father went there and the coach that recruits me went to my old school.?
Hanna does not have a timeline for a verbal commitment but has a feeling that he would commit if one particular offer was made. ?I will continue to wait until a scholarship is extended to me. If Virginia were to offer, I think it would be hard for me not to commit on the spot. But I have always dreamed to play for OSU and I will keep my options wide open.?
