Mike Hass

[IceSpeed]

Watching OSU vs. ASU. I have heard of Mike
Hass before and how devestating he is. I guess players like him
made me think college football retained its traditional feel. I
guess a few schools have, but a lot of teams(Miami(FL), Florida
Schools, etc.) have lost it completely. And there are a few black
players that have that "amateur athlete" persona.

Is this guy the end of his line when it comes to white skill player stars?

 

[Don Wassall]

Hass is a walk-on, like all the white skill players in I-A. In spite of that there are good white wide receivers that rise to the top each year (and then are kept out of the NFL or are kicked around for a few years and then let go). The College Football Stars section here tracks a number of white skill players.


Most big-time college teams try torecruit lineups that look just like that of the NFL -- a few white offensive linemen, maybe a white tight end and/or fullback, maybe a white defensive player or two. The quarterback is as likely now to be black as he is white.


If whites were developed like black players are from an early age on, college and the NFL wouldhave lots ofthemat every position.

 

[surfsider]

Just heard Charles Davis the color guy on the telecast with Thulin launch into a bit of a rant about Hass, saying that everyone should stop calling him an over-achiever and start referring to him as what he is, "a great receiver". He also said that people need to admit that they made a mistake in not recruiting him! Refreshing to say the least.

 

[white lightning]

1-2-3 can we all say Hass for the Heisman!Too bad he is on a losing team.Mike had 11 catches for 174 yards last night in another loss.With his incredible game,he is now leading the nation in receiving at 167.5 yards per game.No one can tell me that this kid can't run.He is simply put the best receiver in all of college football.He does it week after week against defenses that know it's coming and they still can't stop him.I love to see him play.He might be the next Steve Largent assuming he is drafted.What a performance.

Edited by: white lightning

 

[Guest]

Yeah, thats a really important point, white lightning.



Everybody KNOWS that they're going to throw to Hass, but he still makes
the plays. He actually reminds me career-wise of Jerry Rice. An
unheralded reciever that is a great route runner with good speed. I'm
not saying that he's going to turn out to be as good as Rice, but I
think that he will excell at the next level.

 

[StaleyWasScrewd]

And late during the game last night, Charles Davis -- the same color commentator who said that he was tired of hearing Davis referred to as an "overachiever" -- compared Hass to Michael Irvin. He said that it may sound like a strange comparison, but when you look strictly at their games, they play very similarly. It was refreshing to hear a commentator finally talk about Hass without using patronizing code words like "overachiever," "deceptive speed," "high-motor," "lacks quick-twitch athleticism," "lacks hip flexibility,"... And, not surprisingly, Davis is black. The next time I hear a white announcer eschew the use of code words, it'll be the first time...

 

[whiteCB]

Wow I'm more surprised to hear him compare two players of a different race. The media never compares white players to black players and vice versa. I remember people comparing Dustin Fox to Jason Sehorn. The same Sehorn who retired and hasn't played CB in a few years. I mean they can't find one just one black CB to compare him to.

 

[StaleyWasScrewd]

The Dustin Fox-Sehorn comparison doesn't bother me too much. Sure, it's a cop-out, but at least they have similar builds and styles, and Sehorn played recently.

What bothers me is when white players are compared to old-time players. This adds to the perception that white skill position players are a relic from an ancient era -- which, unfortunately, they are. Coming out of college, Luke Staley was compared to Alan Ameche, who played in the '50s. Keith Poole was compared to Lance Alworth, who played in the '60s. Hmmm... Could THAT be why they weren't taken seriously as draft prospects? And, of course, the legendary comparison around here is when Al Michaels compared Drew Bennett to Don Hutson, who played in the '30s!

 

[white lightning]

I think Mike Hass compares with Brandon Stokely and also Kevin Curtis although Curtis is faster.Hass is destined to be a star at any level with the opportunity.I can't see anyone stopping this guy.He is too talented and too hungry.If he were black,he would be a first round pick.Edited by: white lightning

 

[whiteCB]

Haas reminds me of Jimmy Smith of the Jaguars as they are both well rounded deep threats(or at least Smith was in his prime). Hopefully Mel Kiper will give him many a props so people won't blow Haas off and see how good he is. It's all about media time and those Kiper clips during the draft season on who's good and who's not, really impacts fans' as to who they think are good or who they know about.

 

[JD074]

Will he be invited to the Combine? What will his 40 yard dash and other "measurables" be? What will his height be according to their tape? (I've heard that a player will sometimes get one measurement one day and a different measurement the next.) And of course he's white. It'll be a long hard road to the NFL, let alone playing, let alone starting. I wish him the best.

 

[white lightning]

Those are all good questions JD074.Personally,they are crazy if they don't pick this kid.I wouldn't care if he ran a 5.0 in the 40 because he is a stud who knows how to get open.I've heard he runs in the 4.5 range but I believe he's even faster.Strength is unquestionable as should be his height.I guess only time will tell.I think for him to have a chance to go in the first round,he will have to lead the nation in receiving which he is capable of doing as he proved that last season.Good luck to the best receiver in the game.

 

[robcat]

Hass will get invited to the Combine and will probably run a respectable 40 time of around 4.5 and have a decent but not exceptionable vertical jump. Where he should really excel is in the short sprints and shuffles where his "razor sharp cuts" will come into play, also on the pass running drills where they send the receivers on the field and keep firing balls all the way across the field. It's amazing how many times black receivers fail miserably at that.

If they intend to keep Hass from being a number 1 or 2 receiver Kiper and all of his fellow quacking ducks will focus on "lack of speed" and not having an explosive vertical leap, which they will manipulate to portray him as lacking big play potential including the farcial claim of "lack of hip fluidity" thus making Hass a nice potential #3 possession receiver for somebody.

 

[white lightning]

Hass had 7 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown.He also had 1 rush for 11 yards.His 64 yard bomb he caught was a site to see.He should stay at the number one wide receiver in the country.What a superstar he is.I was glad to see Oregon State get the win to improve to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Pac Ten.Way to go Hass!Edited by: white lightning

 

[Don Wassall]

Just another day at the office for Mike. What an unbelievable talent. It's a sick joke that he's never mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Of course, when he's already been pegged as a number three receiver in the NFL. . .

 

[Spooge]

Guys I lived in Albany Oregon ( about 12 miles from Resers statium where the Beavers play) for many years (recently moved to Montana to get away from the mass innundation from our brown friends from the south) and have watched Mike make spectacular cacthes and runs time and again. Iv'e been to the stadium and watched him on television. Every time a ball is thrown his way he catches it. Brothers can't cover him plain and simple he is phenominal black or white. When coach Riley calls for the quarterback to throw to a BROTHER (ie Weat Brown) its a toss up. If the ball is not right in his hand with about a six inch margin, then he will (as most Brothers do) shorten up his hands and drop the pass. Mike Hass on the other hand, goes up the ladder, makes a circus catch, etc... Edited by: Spooge

 

[white lightning]

Mike Hass has the best hands in the country.You could compare him to Largent who almost never dropped a pass.I don't know how to talk highly enough about his immense talent.The sky is the limit for Hass!Edited by: white lightning

 

[white lightning]

Mike Hass has a chance to break two records in the Pac Ten.The first is the consecutive 100 yard receiving games record held by Keshawn Johnson at 11 games.Hass has 9 consecutive games so far.He only needs 3 more to erase that jerks record forever.I hate K.Johnson.

The other record is the all time Pac Ten Receiving Record.No wide receiver in Pac Ten History has ever had three 1000 yard receiving seasons.Hass has two already and will easily break it this year within the next couple of games.He is doing things that no receiver has ever acheived and there have been so many star receivers over the years out west.Simply amazing.Way to go Hass!!Edited by: white lightning

 

[JGNYC]

It's great that Haas is having such a great season and SI named him to their mid-season All Star team.


However, he may not be drafted for the same reason he wasn't recruited by any Div 1 schools....his 40 time is slow - 4.62.


Of course all those universities made a mistake in judging Haas strictly by his 40 time, but I won't be surprised if the NFL does the same.

 

[whiteCB]

Where did you hear he runs a 4.62 because especially for a white WR that is a death sentence. I really hope that your wrong because that just sucks.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I think JGNYC is trying to get the best of us guys. He's faster than that, he proves it on the field. Even if he were that slow(which he isn't), he would keep from getting drafted because of his skin tone a whole lot faster than because of a 40 time.

 

[SteveB]

If he runs a 4.62 now, he can go to a good speed coach and get that down to a high 4.4 to low 4.5 range by the time the combine comes around. Unfortunately, a good 40 time means nothing to how much PT he gets in the NFL. Just ask Kevin Kasper.

 

[JGNYC]

Here's a link to the article and an excerpt.


http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=26414


It wasn't as if Hass was an unknown coming out of Jesuit. As a 6-1, 190-pound senior, he had 79 catches for 1,739 yards and 21 touchdowns, scored seven TDs in a state playoff game and was the state's offensive player of the year.
Still, nobody offered him a scholarship. Not Oregon. Not Oregon State. Not even Division I-AA Portland State. Viking coach Tim Walsh, who has known Hass since he was 12, had him on campus for a visit but didn't offer a ride.
"The main reason nobody offered him was the question about his speed," Walsh says. "It was, 'Is he fast enough?' "
Riley, who was with the San Diego Chargers at the time, confirms Walsh's account.
"How does a guy slip through the cracks?" Riley asks. "Well, recruiting is not a perfect science. No matter how much you think you know, you don't really know. Oregon State has had so many great examples of that. Kenny Simonton is a great example. We were the only (Division I) school to offer him a ride.
"People recruit in a box. The guy has to be a certain thing, and (coaches) don't like to go out of the box. If the guy isn't big enough, isn't fast enough, isn't strong enough, they don't like to take the chance. Mike Hass was not in the box."
Such information baffles Hass, who says he never ran a 40 for time at Jesuit. Last year, he was timed at OSU in 4.62.
"It was frustrating," Hass admits. "I thought someone would take a chance and offer me a scholarship. It gave me something to have a little chip on my shoulder about."

 

[jaxvid]

"People recruit in a box. The guy has to be a certain thing, and (coaches) don't like to go out of the box. If the guy isn't big enough, isn't fast enough, isn't strong enough,

...isn't black enough

 

[JD074]

Here's a link to the article and an excerpt.


http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=26414
 "The main reason nobody offered him was the question about his speed," Walsh says. "It was, 'Is he fast enough?' " 

And we all know why they were skeptical of his speed, even though, according to him, he didn't run a 40 in high school.

"How does a guy slip through the cracks?" Riley asks. "Well, recruiting is not a perfect science.

As we know.

"People recruit in a box. The guy has to be a certain thing, and (coaches) don't like to go out of the box.

And we know what that "thing" is. (A black guy.)

If the guy isn't big enough, isn't fast enough, isn't strong enough, they don't like to take the chance. Mike Hass was not in the box."   

He wasn't, and it had nothing to do with his size, speed, or strength.

Such information baffles Hass, who says he never ran a 40 for time at Jesuit. Last year, he was timed at OSU in 4.62.   

And yet they assumed he was slow.

"It was frustrating," Hass admits. "I thought someone would take a chance and offer me a scholarship.

Good thing he didn't give up. He has really succeeded despite being stereotyped and denied opportunities that he would've gotten had he had black skin.