There’s no doubt that Utah LB Chase Hansen has the desire to participate in the Holiday Bowl, his last game as a Ute. His status, however, remains up-in-the-air due to an unspecified hip injury.
“It’s a long shot, I can tell you that,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “I’m still holding out hope. They’ve counted him out before at times and he’s made it back.”
As an NFL prospect, you’d assume that Hansen would sit out if it were even in question. An assumption that would be wrong. Hansen wants to be out there as much as he needs to breath. He’ll travel and prep with the team as usual but barring an expedited healing process, it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to play on Dec. 31.
“Never count Chase out,” adds Whittingham. “If he’s ready to go and wants to go, he’ll go.”
No. 17 Utah heads to San Diego for a New Years Eve Holiday Bowl matchup with Big Ten runner-up and No. 22 Northwestern. The Utes and Wildcats kickoff at 5pm(MT) on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN700.
