Penn State earns transfer portal commitment from former Iowa State running back Carson Hansen

Penn State football has earned a transfer portal commitment from former Iowa State running back Carson Hansen. A second-team All-Big 12 pick in 2025, he rushed 187 times for 950 yards and a team-high six touchdowns last fall. The Lakeville, Minn., native has one season of eligibility left. During a breakout 2024 season, he totaled 15 touchdowns, including five multi-score games. He was a three-star recruit in the Rivals Industry Rankings for the Class of 2023.

“Carson, from when we got rolling this summer, has had a mindset of every day,” former Iowa State running backs coach Jake Landry said last summer. “I mean, there’s nothing that Carson’s not doing right now at a championship level in terms of his preparation, whether that’s rehab, getting ready for practice, going through a walkthrough. He’s been locked in, and it’s elevated our room through his preparation. And the big challenge to him was to continue to grow, learning the system of the offense. He’s certainly done that so far.

“I think right now, him understanding the type of player that he is, his skill set of just being more of a downhill runner and not trying to create something crazy on a particular play. I think being able to get vertical is something that we’ve been stressing to him and being a bigger back and being able to work on the things that he may not try very much in a game to be able to figure out what are his skill sets and what can he do, what can’t he do. And then be able to enhance those things.”

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