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Repeatedly having an offense in the Mid-American Conference without a ton of sex appeal, there is still a decent amount of talent listed on Eastern Michigan's roster that are worth showing off. Now appearing on the list of the best players within the MAC an offensive lineman for the Eagles, Lincoln Hansen.
Hansen (6 foot 6, 299 pounds), a redshirt senior from Omaha, Nebraska, is a team captain for his second year. Starting all 12 games at right tackle last year, he earned Third Team All-MAC honors.
Having only played at Eastern Michigan in the Ron English era, Hansen was one of the few who didn't disappoint. Last season as a team, the Eagles ran for 1,896 yards (158 yards per game) and threw the ball for 2,137 yards (178 ypg). Yes, that's with the game against Bowling Green, when EMU finished with four passing yards. The Eagles were a pretty bad scoring team too, averaging just below 19 points per game. But let's keep in mind that 2013 was just a really bad year at Eastern overall, and there wasn't a whole lot Hansen could do about it.
It seemed like every week last season, there would be some sort of mixup going on with the offensive linemen as in figuring out who would be starting each week, which is bad for continuity's sake. But Hansen was always somebody that then-offensive coordinator Stan Parrish seemed to have relied on for a team that needed leadership.
Of course, many people might not know who Hansen because 1) he's an offensive lineman and 2) plays in the MAC, but he is receiving some national attention. In Phil Steele's preseason predictions, he put Hansen as a First Team All-MAC tackle.
With Hansen, there are still three other 5th year senior lineman on the team to help out with their chemistry including Campbell Allison, Robert McFadden and Jordan Erbes. Senior center Kent Collins played his first year as an Eagle last year, and will also be helping Hansen out on the interior front.