SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah football team beat Washington to keep their lead in the Pac-12 south division, but they lost starting safety Chase Hansen in the process.
Hansen was injured in the final play of the game. On Monday, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham shared the news.
“Chase is out for the season,” Whittingham said. “It’s a lower leg injury. It’s a shame, he played lights out in this game and was really phenomenal with his play.”
Hansen, a Freshman, started the season as the Utes third-string quarterback, but he switched over to defensive midway through the season and played well enough to earn his start at strong safety against Washington. He led the team with 11 tackles and forced a fumble against the Huskies.
Senior Tevin Carter, who started the first eight games of the season for the Utes at strong safety, will start this Saturday at Arizona.
Whittingham said this injury will not affect if Hansen plays quarterback or safety next season.
“Bottom line is he is going to be on the field somewhere for us next year,” Whittingham said. “Where it’s quarterback or safety or whatever, he’s going to be a starter. We’ve just got to make the determination in the off-season what we are going to focus on with him.”
