Mike Hass (born January 2, 1983) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

, earning first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2005. He was selected by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in the sixth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. He was also a member of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010 UFL season, 2010. During ...

. Hass was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

Early life

Hass played on the varsity football team as a wide receiver and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

at Jesuit High School for three years. He helped lead the team to an

OSAA The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) is a non-profit, board-governed organization that regulates high school athletics and competitive activities via athletic conferences in the U.S. state of Oregon, providing equitable competition a ...

4A State Championship in 2000 over

North Medford High School North Medford High School is a public high school in Medford, Oregon, Medford, Oregon, United States. It is part of Medford School District (Oregon), Medford School District, and its nickname is the Black Tornado. The school enrolls 1,750 student ...

as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, recording 79 receptions for 1,739 yards and 21

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He finished the championship game with an

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division 1 Division 1 or Division One may refer to: Association football * Azadegan League, the second-tier professional football league in Iran * Brisbane Premier League Division 1, the second-tier professional football league in Brisbane, Queensland, Austr ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

and elected to

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

at Oregon State.

College career

Hass was a

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

wide receiver for

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

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. After playing mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

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 The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

and was named an AP,

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...

and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

First-team

. He was invited to the 81st annual

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

recording four receptions for 107 yards, including the game-winning touchdown for the West. In 2022 Hass was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

for his record-setting performance as a Beaver.

Records

Despite only playing three seasons, Hass currently holds many Oregon State records, as well as several

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

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 Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

in 2004 is an Oregon State and Pac-10 record for most receiving yards in a single game. * His 14 receptions against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

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 (Not including pac-12 records) record for most receiving yards in a single season.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

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

by the

. It was reported by writers Jim Beseda and Paul Bucker of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' that

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning consensus All-American honors twice and winning the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Bush is wide ...

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 A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Josh Lay Bernard "Josh" Lay (born September 8, 1982) is an American former professional football cornerback. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh. Lay was also a mem ...

instead. 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 The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. However, he was released by the Saints on September 3, 2006.

Chicago Bears

The

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. He finally earned a spot on the Bears' active roster as the team's sixth wide receiver on September 1, 2007. On August 29, 2008, Hass was waived by the Bears. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 30, 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.

Seattle Seahawks

Hass was signed to a future contract by the

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. 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 Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Derek Walker. Hass was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a dislocated shoulder on December 30. On August 23, 2010, Hass was released by the Seahawks. He played in just two regular games in the NFL.

Omaha Nighthawks

Hass was signed by the

of the United Football League on August 31, 2010.

Post-football life

After playing with the Nighthawks in 2010, Hass left football to pursue a career with

Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. (stylized as ''NIKE'') is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world's largest supplier of Sneakers, athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equ ...

. He worked for the company's development department and designs sporting equipment. He now is a project manager at Pacific Geosource. He is married to his wife, Rebecca and has two kids Logan and Gwyneth.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsSeattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hass, Mike 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Portland, Oregon American football wide receivers Oregon State Beavers football players New Orleans Saints players Chicago Bears players Seattle Seahawks players Omaha Nighthawks players Jesuit High School (Beaverton, Oregon) alumni College Football Hall of Fame inductees