College Football 2012 Top 150 Players: No. 148 Braden Hansen, Guard BYU

So far we've got a quarterback and a running back in the mix, but now it is time to show some love to the guys who make everyone else on offense look so good—the offensive line.

We've got linemen all over the Top 150 in college football and we take a trip out to Provo, Utah to highlight the first guy on our list: BYU's Braden Hansen.

No. 148: Braden Hansen, #76, Guard, BYU

BYU's Braden Hansen looks a lot different than my Braden Hanson, even though the two are the same 6'6" height.

Every time I heard the name I thought of UNC's back up quarterback, that was until I saw the Cougars play a few times and immediately the big kid for BYU came to my mind.

Strengths:

He's a big ol' boy for starters.

Hansen is 6'6" and 315 lbs, but the young man carries it well. He has that odd blend of size and athleticism that every team is looking for out of their men up front.

Early in his career run blocking was his main strength, as he was a big body capable of opening holes for the Cougars running game.

The kid was a freshman All-American as well as an All-MWC player in the years to come. He could move bodies and while BYU struggled in figuring out their quarterback spot a season ago, Hansen was a steady body in the interior of the line. 

Weaknesses:

For what BYU asks of Hansen, there really are no true weaknesses to his game.

He's a big body that moves defensive lineman and combos to the next level very well. Overall his game could use a bit more athleticism to really improve upon the work he does when pulling out of the interior.

That improvement in his game would help the Cougars move the ball a bit more laterally, in addition to their bread and butter— the straight-ahead run game. 

2012 Predictions:

The Cougars will enter the year with Riley Nelson at the quarterback spot, which clears up a lot of the issues that they had in the first half of last season.

With a proven leader at quarterback, the onus will be on the offensive line to get things done.

That means Hansen will be clearing holes, protecting Nelson and looking to annihilate linebackers and defensive backs when the scrambling quarterback gets loose.

This BYU team is good. They have the manpower up front to make things happen and it starts with their best body—Braden Hansen.