Mike Hass

Mike Hass (born January 2, 1983) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State.

Hass has also played for the Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks and Omaha Nighthawks.

Early years

Hass played on the varsity football team as a wide receiver and defensive back at Jesuit High School for three years. He helped lead the team to an OSAA 4A State Championship in 2000 over North Medford High School as a senior, recording 79 receptions for 1,739 yards and 21 touchdowns. He finished the championship game with an interception return for a touchdown. In the quarterfinals against co-#1 team and rival Central Catholic he scored a state playoff-game record seven touchdowns. He was on the First-team All-State Offense and Defense, First-team All-Metro Offense and Defense, and was the OSAA Football Offensive Player of the Year in 2000. Despite his gaudy statistics as a senior, he was not offered a single NCAA Division 1 scholarship and elected to walk-on at Oregon State.

College career

Hass was a starting wide receiver for Oregon State University from 2003 - 2005. Although he was an outstanding player in high school, most college scouts felt his limited size and speed would prevent him from excelling at the collegiate level, and was not offered a football scholarship by any Division I schools, and ended up as a walk-on at Oregon State.^[1] After playing mostly on special teams in 2002, he was awarded a scholarship and a starting role as he broke out with the first of three consecutive 1,000+ receiving yard seasons in 2003. He kept the pace in 2004, breaking more school and conference records on his way to being named a Third-team All-American.

In 2005, his senior season, Hass won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and was named an AP, Walter Camp and ESPN First-team All-American. He was invited to the 81st annual East-West Shrine Game recording four receptions for 107 yards, including the game-winning touchdown for the West.^[2]

Records

Despite only playing three seasons, Hass currently holds many Oregon State records, as well as several Pac-10 records. Some of these include:

• The first receiver in Oregon State and Pac-10 history to have three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and is only the 10th player in NCAA history to do so.
• Holds the Oregon State record and is third in the Pac-10 for receiving yards in a career with 3,924
• The only player in Oregon State and Pac-10 history with two 225-plus yards receiving games.
• His 293 receiving yards against Boise State in 2004 is an Oregon State and Pac-10 record for most receiving yards in a single game.
• His 14 receptions against Arizona State in 2004 is an Oregon State record for most receptions in a game.
• His 20 receiving touchdowns ties him for the school record for receiving touchdowns in a career.
• His 90 receptions in the 2005 season is an Oregon State record for most receptions in a single season.
• His 220 receptions in his college career was an Oregon State record for most receptions in a career
• His 1,532 receiving yards in the 2005 season is an Oregon State and Pac-10 record for most receiving yards in a single season.

Professional career

Pre-draft

At the 2006 NFL Combine, Hass (unofficially) ran an 4.61 second 40-yard dash, a relatively slow time for a wide receiver, but was reportedly very impressive during the pass catching drills.

Although some pre-draft analysis had Hass projected as a third or fourth round pick, he was selected in the sixth round (171st overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints.^[3]

It was reported by writers Jim Beseda and Paul Bucker of The Oregonian that Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush played a part in the selection, putting in a good word for Hass with Saints' executives. It was also reported that Bush had requested for Hass to be his roommate at the rookie mini-camp, but Hass ended up rooming with cornerback Josh Lay instead.

New Orleans Saints

Hass wore jersey #18 with the Saints, a change from the #28 he wore in college due to the NFL's positional jersey numbering rules. On July 27, 2006 Hass signed a three-year contract with the Saints, details were undisclosed. He recorded three receptions for 28 yards in his first preseason game on August 12 against the Tennessee Titans. However, he was released by the Saints on September 3, 2006.

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears signed Hass to their practice roster on September 4, 2006. He remained there throughout the season, until the team signed him to their active roster on February 8, 2007. During the next preseason finale, he made a leaping touchdown catch.^[4] He finally earned a spot on the Bears’ active roster as the team's sixth wide receiver on September 1, 2007.^[5]

On August 29, 2008, Hass was waived by the Bears.^[6] He was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 30,^[7] only to be released again on October 11. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 15. Hass was released again on December 23.^[8]

Seattle Seahawks

Hass was signed to a future contract by the Seattle Seahawks on January 7, 2009. Despite scoring a touchdown in the first preseason game, Hass was cut by Seattle on September 5, 2009. He was signed to the Seahawks' practice squad two days later. On November 3, the Seahawks signed Hass to their 53-man roster.^[9]

On November 12, 2009, Hass was moved to the Seahawks practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster again on December 26 when the team waived defensive end Derek Walker. Hass was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated shoulder on December 30.

On August 23, 2010, Hass was released by the Seahawks.^[10]

Omaha Nighthawks

Hass was signed by the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League on August 31, 2010.^[11]

Post-Football

After playing with the Nighthawks for one season, Hass decided it was time to move on and do something else. He currently works for Nike, Inc. in the development department, working on designing new sporting equipment.^[12]

References

External links

• Chicago Bears bio
• Seattle Seahawks bio