For Byron’s Colin Hansen, ‘a dream come true’ melds Gophers football and a University of Minnesota education

BYRON, Minn. – Colin Hansen officially joined the Gophers football team Wednesday, and he said his decision had something to do with football.

It did not have everything to do with football.

Hansen, a defensive lineman from Byron who is the eighth-ranked recruit in Minnesota and also a near-4.0 student, said school mattered nearly as much as football. He plans to study kinesiology.

“First, it’s the hometown program, but secondly the education is second to none,” Hansen said at a signing ceremony at Byron High School. “And then just the coaching and the development part of it that I’m going to get; all three of those were huge factors.”

Hansen, 6-6, 230 pounds and ranked 178th among the nation’s defensive linemen by 247Sports, is part of a Gophers recruiting class led by the state’s top defensive prospects in Cooper linebacker Emmanuel Karmo, Caledonia linebacker Ethan Stendel and Heritage Christian Academy defensive lineman Abu Tarawallie.

A three-sport athlete in high school, Hansen helped Byron go 9-2 en route to the Class 4A quarterfinals this season. With a menacing combination of length and athleticism, Hansen racked up 44 tackles, six sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 2024. He also forced three fumbles, two of which led to defensive touchdowns.

“We’re a ‘we’ program,” Hansen said. “Everything is about your teammates and not yourself, and just those strong bonds that we built together. I mean, it’s hard to beat a team like that when everyone’s got the same goal in mind.”

Heading into his junior year, Colin Hansen had thought he might attend Northern State, where his father, Brad, was an NCAA Division II All-America basketball player in 2002. But by the time Hansen worked out for Gophers coach P.J. Fleck this summer, he had put on 20 pounds while maintaining his speed and agility needed and had become a major college prospect.

He likely will need to add weight as he prepares to put on the maroon and gold.

“I’m on the lighter side, but I think that won’t be too difficult,” Hansen said. “And then I just need to stay determined and perfect my craft every day.”

Hansen is the second Byron defensive lineman in as many years to move on to a Division I program after Zach Vanderpool signed with North Dakota State in 2023. Hansen said watching Vanderpool make it gave him the drive he needed heading into his senior year.

Brad Hansen credited the Byron coaching staff led by Ben Halder for creating a culture that helped Hansen thrive on and off the field.

“Coach Halder has been amazing,” he said. “He was instrumental in this whole thing — his navigating with coaches all around, I can say, the United States, from Washington to Kansas.”

Colin Hansen said he has been in contact with his future coaches and teammates since verbally committing to the Gophers in June. He said the camaraderie was a big part of why he decided to stay in state

“It’s been very obvious what a tight-knit family they are up there, and he already feels part of that family,” his mother, Elise, said. “He feels like he’s a Gopher and it’s like a dream come true — just playing for your home state.”