Branching out

Don’t confuse Matt Hanna with George Plimpton, the late author-turned-football player for a pair of best-selling books. The University High senior is no Paper Titan.

Hanna, a basketball player all his life, branched out this year, turning out to play wide receiver for the football team despite lacking any experience with the game beyond watching Monday Night Football.

“The basketball coach, Marty Jessett, encouraged me to turn out,” Hanna said. “He thought it would help my game and I think it has. I think I’ll be more physical and tougher.”

To be sure, this is no mild flirtation. Hanna currently ranks second in the Greater Spokane League with 16 receptions, averaging 10.5 yards per catch as a starting wide receiver.

His basketball skills, his balance and body control honed over years of playing one-on-one games, serve him in good stead.

“They aren’t the same game at all,” Hanna said. “But the skills are compatible.”

Enough so that Hanna has impressed more than his own coaches.

“Matt has a chance to play football beyond this year,” University coach Mike Ganey said. “Maybe not Division I, but if he wants to, he could play college football somewhere.”

Football has become a rapidly opening door for the 6-foot-2 pass-catcher.

Hanna had no designs on making the starting lineup and only wanted to find a way to contribute when he finally donned pads for the first time. Instead, he’s become a primary target and a reliable part of the offense.

“The first game I played, I caught one pass for just five yards,” he said. “That was because my routes were so lousy. I’ve tried to go out and run better, more precise routes every day.”

One of Hanna’s biggest supporters is senior captain Kris O’Connor, a starter at running back and a force at linebacker.

“It’s the same thing with Matt as it is for any other player on this team,” O’Connor said. “If someone is having a little trouble, needs a little help, needs to stay after practice, I’ll do it.”

O’Connor, himself, is out to make the most of his senior season, having missed most of last year with a broken leg.

Since that time, he’s missed no opportunity to improve himself and, by extension, his teammates.

“My goal is to play football beyond this year, and I’ve been talking to some college coaches,” he said. “They all tell me the same thing. It all depends on my senior year, and for that to happen, I have to rely on my teammates. I’ll do everything I can to help make them better.

“Having someone like Matt come out and help us makes us better. That’s great.”

“I’ve learned a lot from watching Kris play,” Hanna said. “He flies around and works his tail off every single day. I try to follow his lead and his example.”

O’Connor has done more than just set an example.

“Kris has been a huge help — everyone has,” Hanna said. “I knew nothing about football coming in. One of the first days, the coach told us to go run a hitch route, and everyone went off to do it. I had to stop and say, ‘Uh, coach? What’s a hitch route?’ It’s been like that quite a bit, actually.”

Hanna’s learning curve has been steep. The first time he stepped on the field in a game, he said his only thoughts were about not doing anything to embarrass himself. A few weeks later, and his thoughts are about his game and what he can do to help his team.

And he’s shared in a whole new experience.

The Titans won their first game last week, knocking off previously unbeaten Clarkston.

“It was so cool after the game,” Hanna said. “There was so much relief and so much joy to have won that game — to have worked so hard coming in and to have it all pay off like that — it was a great experience. The locker room after the game was so great. Everyone was whooping and yelling and singing and dancing. I’ve never experienced anything like it before in my life.”

This week, too, has been a new experience.

It’s been Homecoming Week at U-Hi, leading up to Friday’s game with Rogers. To be a player in the game at the heart of that celebration has been a new and fun experience.

“It’s been great, sharing in all the celebration leading up to the game,” Hanna said. “The only thing I can compare it to is the Stinky Sneaker game during basketball season. All that week, I’m really looking forward to Friday night and the game. It’s the same with this week, only more so because there’s so much attention paid to the game and so much focus to it all week long. I’m glad I’ve been able to be a part of it.”