Former Mead High School and Washington State University football standout Jason Hanson finally received his deserved recognition.
Hanson, who spent his entire 21-year professional career with the Detroit Lions, was inducted into the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame last week in Las Vegas with the Class of 2020 after their scheduled induction the year before was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 63rd NFF ceremony Dec. 7 at the ARIA Resort & Casino honored both Hanson’s Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021.
The two-time All-American kicker becomes the fifth Cougars player in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Mel Hein (1928-30), Glen Edwards (1929-31), Rueben Mayes (1982-85) and Mike Utley (1985-88).
There are also four former WSU coaches in the shrine: William “Lone Star” Dietz (1915-17), Babe Hollingbery (1926-42), Forest Evashevski (1950-51) and Dennis Erickson (1987-88).
Hanson was a teammate of Utley as a freshman in 1988 when both played for Erickson, helping the Cougars earn a No. 16 national ranking and win the Aloha Bowl, the school’s first postseason victory in 73 seasons.
Hanson was the second-round NFL draft selection of the Lions in 1992 after setting 15 WSU records. He was the 1992 NFL Rookie of the Year, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and is the fourth-leading scorer in NFL history. He’s the only player with 2,000 career points for one franchise, holds every Lions placekicking record and was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2013.
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