Hanson happy with decision to return to MLC

At the conclusion of 2007 Midland Lutheran College football season, linebacker Brian Hanson wasn’t sure if he would be back for this year.

Hanson, who started college at Iowa Western before transferring to Midland in early 2005, thought about graduating and entering the working world. After enduring back-to-back two-win seasons, the former Omaha Roncalli standout couldn’t be blamed if he reached that decision.

"We were all hoping he would come back," said linebacker Kyle Dinslage, who is a defensive co-captain with Hanson this season. "We were concerned about it, but we had to leave it up to him. If he didn’t want to be here and we talked him into it, he wouldn’t have been happy. I think it came down that he didn’t want to have any regrets about passing up his last season of football."

Hanson doesn’t have any regrets about coming back for his final year of eligibility. The Warriors, who face Dakota Wesleyan at 1:30 today in their homecoming game at Memorial Field, are 4-0 and ranked No. 19 in NAIA.

"I gave it all a lot of consideration," Hanson said. "But with the way last year went and how hard Coach (Casey) Thiele works in preparing us, I figured I’d come back and see if we could make this year better. I had a strong bond with a lot of the guys on defense."

Hanson earned second-team All-Great Plains Athletic Conference honors as a junior. He averaged 6.3 tackles per game and had a team-best 38 solo stops. He finished sixth on the league tackle charts - one spot behind Dinslage.

Hanson said he thought during spring ball that the Warriors were in for a change of fortune. Kelley Lee, who was hired earlier in 2008 as the new offensive coordinator, instilled a spread option attack.

"I think we were a little skeptical at first because we thought our offense would be running the same type of thing," Hanson said. "But after the spring we were like, ‘Wow, we can’t wait for the fall.’"

While the Warriors were believers that 2008 wouldn’t be like the previous two seasons, others were doubtful. Midland was picked to finish 10th in the GPAC coaches preseason poll. Even after winning their first four games, the Warriors haven’t got everyone on their bandwagon.

Hanson said unflattering comments from opposing coaches and message board postings on GPAC and NAIA Web sites serve as motivation.

"There are a lot of people out there that are still considering us underdogs and that’s the way we like it," Hanson said. "There’s a lot of talk saying that we’re overrated and we don’t belong where we are. We soak that in. We like going out each week and being the underdog, getting our work done and moving on."

Dinslage said Hanson’s business-like approach to the game has helped with the Warriors’ turnaround.

"He practices extremely fast and leads by example on the field," he said. "He is also great at breaking down film on our opponents. He’ll spot things right away. He’s very football savvy."

Leadership is something that Hanson doesn’t take lightly. It is his second season as a co-captain.

"Everybody looks to the captain so a captain always has to be positive. You have to show a good work ethic because if you are slacking, the others will slack," he said. "I’m proud of all four of our captains (Terence Maahs and Jinho Tohara on offense) because each one pushes their teammates to do better."

Hanson hopes the Warriors will do better today against Dakota Wesleyan than they did during a 47-7 loss last year in Mitchell, S.D. Midland fumbled eight times (losing four) and also had an interception.

"The turnovers were pretty much the deal-maker in that game," Hanson said. "I know that with our offense this year that won’t happen. We basically have the same defense and we’re definitely more capable of creating more turnovers and forcing them into bad situations. ... It will be a completely different game this time."

Win or lose, Hanson is expected to be around the ball for the MLC defense.

"He’s got everything you want in a linebacker. He has quickness and strength and sometimes he knows where the ball carrier will be before they do," Dinslage said. "He’s a good blitzer and he can drop back into coverage. Brian does all the facets of the game well. He’s an all-around linebacker."