Get to Know Penn State Running Back Carson Hansen

Through three seasons at Iowa State, running back Carson Hansen totaled 361 carries for 1,771 yards and 19 touchdowns, manning the starting role for the last two seasons. So when head coach Matt Campbell left for Penn State, Hansen faced a difficult decision.

“I have a year left … I’m probably gonna go with familiar faces and the trusted people I have,” Hansen said. “It’s the last chance, so I got to make the best of it … I wouldn’t really want to do it with any other coaches. I trust them.”

Though a couple other schools reached out to him in the portal, Hansen didn’t want to take an unnecessary risk in his final collegiate season. He landed in Happy Valley, where he’ll battle returning Nittany Lion Quinton Martin Jr. and Ohio State transfer James Peoples for snaps.

“Me and Quinton are very similar backs. We’re a little bit more downhill. We’re a little bit taller running backs. We use our vision to get downhill, make a decision quickly,” Hansen said. “James is kind of similar as well. He’s a little bit of a smaller back, but he does an amazing job laterally, between the tackles, and you saw the clip of him in the UCLA game. He can hurdle; he’s got a lot of athletic ability.”

In addition to Peoples’ highlight reel moment against the Bruins, Hansen said he watched Martin’s 103-yard performance in the Pinstripe Bowl win over Clemson.

The senior is no stranger to splitting touches — Abu Sama III totaled 264 carries across the last two seasons with the Cyclones, while Hansen reached 339 — but he may see a decrease in usage this season. Still, Hansen is looking forward to the opportunity to learn from his peers this season, while acknowledging that his role may look different in the fall.

“You just got to go into it one day at a time, and you just got to keep preparing like you’re going to be the guy,” Hansen said. “That’s the goal. You just want to be the guy, and that’s what we’re going to strive to do. And we’re just going to work off each other, and we’re just going to push each other every single day.”

Though he’s only been at Penn State for a couple months and team practices are just ramping up, Hansen has felt a warm embrace from the community as he navigates a new team.

“It’s just a lot bigger. It’s bigger than Ames; it’s kind of a blown-up Ames,” Hansen said. “The fanbase is amazing. The people here are amazing. It was a little chaotic for me coming from a smaller college to here, but it’s been a great adjustment.”