Personal
Born in Caldwell, Idaho...parents are Clark and Fawn...married to the former Amanda Jamison in February of 1999...proper spelling of his name is Hans, but he prefers spelling of Hance to ensure pronunciation...nephew of Hall of Fame lineman Merlin Olsen (Utah St., LA Rams), Phil (Utah St., LA Rams) and former Cougar All-WAC performer Orrin (1970-74)...while fishing with Orrin on a snowy morning Nov. 5, 1996, Hans saved a drowning motorist...older brother, Ryan, studied opera singing at the Cincinnati Conservatory... Hans' mother runs a candy shop in Weiser...recruited by Nebraska, Washington St., Utah St., Boise St., Oregon, Arizona, Montana, Washington, Arizona St., and UCLA...majoring in elementary education.
Before BYU
Lettered in track, wrestling, and football four years at Weiser High...also played offensive line...honor roll student junior and senior year...all-state offensive and defensive lineman...all-district player of the year...all-district defensive and offensive lineman...Idaho player of the year...coached by Jeff Murphy.
Summary
All-Mountain West Conference Second Team as a senior...started all games as a junior and senior.
Stats
Year UT AT TFL FR FC PI PD BK Hur Sck Totl 1998 6 2 3 1 - - 3 - 3 - 34.0 Total 6 2 3 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 34.0
Wrestled briefly with the Cougar varsity, losing in his only match, 3-1, at Wyoming, but the spread of that decision preserved a BYU victory, 19-18...suffered a bad ankle sprain at SMU...consequently did not suit up for several games mid-season.
Scored 34 defensive points for the Cougars...started three games at defensive end...had two QB hurries vs. Arizona State...recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter at Hawaii...recorded a tackle and a pass deflection against Utah.
Started at defensive tackle in al 11 of the Cougars' regular-season games...recorded a career-high 33 tackles on the season, including 19 unassisted and 14 assisted tackles...produced six tackles for a combined loss of 31 yards, including three sacks for a minus-31 yards...fulfilling a defensive lineman's dream, picked up a San Diego State fumble and rumbled 24 yards for his first-ever career touchdown...had six quarterback hurries as a junior and picked up two pass deflections, both against Utah...earned coaches' award for performances against California and SDSU...recorded a season-high eight tackles against Cal, including four solo tackles.
All-Mountain West Conference Second Team...Las Vegas Review Journal All-MWC Second Team...The Sporting News All-MWC First Team...Rivals.com All-MWC First Team...coaches defensive lineman of the game against Mississippi State, UNLV and Wyoming...recorded 45 tackles on the year, including 18 unassisted...had a season-high 10 tackles, including six for loss against Colorado State...had 14 tackles for loss on the season...recorded two sacks...recovered a team-high five fumbles, including two against San Diego Sate...had three quarterback hurries and one deflection while also blocking a kick...returned a punt for 20 yards versus Colorado State.