Since he was nine years old, NIU linebacker Cory Hanson has done just about as much an athlete can do.

So when he received the news before last season that he was going to be redshirted, he made a vow: To make sure he’d be ready to go for this season.

Hanson took his role on the scout team, determined to help the team in any way he could. But in the back of his mind, he kept his vow.

“Being redshirted was definitely tough,” Hanson said. “It’s probably the toughest time I had here. I just wanted to play so bad.”

It tested him, but through five games so far this season, his work seems to be paying off.

He’s starting at the outside linebacker position and averaging more than five tackles a game.

Pretty impressive considering he played safety in high school.

He also played quarterback too. During his junior season at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, Hanson not only threw for 1,000 yards, rushed for 1,000 as well.

But it’s those safety skills that are coming in handy more than ever now.

Hanson prides himself on his quickness and good hands while in coverage. And according to Novak however, one shouldn’t underestimate his ability when it comes to laying someone out.

“He has what we call ‘natural explosion,'” Novak said. “Some kids have it and some don’t. When he strikes as a football player he’s got some snap. He’s the kind that when he makes some tackles you go ‘wow.'”

It’s those natural abilities that caught Novak’s attention. But the feeling had to be mutual for Hanson to pick NIU.

And in the end, Hanson liked how relatively close DeKalb is to Minneapolis. That at least allowed the chance of his mom coming to the games.

Not able to attend every game, Hanson’s mom attends as many as possible and is usually more nervous about the games than he is.

But one game she couldn’t go to was the first game of the season against Ohio State; a game Hanson has dreamed about since he was a kid.

“You dream about going to a Division I school and playing in the big games,” Hanson said. “It was crazy stepping out on the field, I had so many emotions going through me. I thought, ‘I finally made it.'”

Despite his mom not being there, Hanson doesn’t worry about her not getting to see him in a big game. He doesn’t plan on that being his last big game of the season.

And, being a freshman, he’s still got plenty of seasons left to wear the cardinal and black.

Andy Pruski is a Sports Reporter for the Northern Star.