Hattis hopes ASU will be NFL steppingstone
Cleveland grad will be grad transfer
A year from now, Henry Hattis has designs on wearing the colors of an NFL team.
“It’s been a dream of mine ever since I’ve been playing YAFL,” Hattis said. “If that opportunity presents itself, I’ll pursue it to the best of my abilities.”
The former Cleveland High standout, a member of the Storm’s undefeated 2015 championship team, recently completed his playing days — but not his college career — at Stanford.
The 22-year-old offensive lineman will be a graduate transfer at
Arizona State this fall. ASU was one of the schools that originally recruited Hattis while he was at Cleveland.
“It was a tough decision,” Hattis said. “I had to make the best call. Even in the transfer portal, I was thinking about coming back to Stanford.”
In Tempe, Hattis’ possible road to the NFL could be accelerated by the presence of Sun Devils coach Herm Edwards, a longtime NFL player and head coach, and offensive analyst Kevin Mawae, a Hall of Fame lineman.
“Overall, it was the best fit for me,” Hattis said. Although he began his Stanford career as a tackle, he moved to right guard last season. “I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
Arizona State graduated the majority of its offensive line, making that a definite area of need. And there were no junior linemen on the roster, either.
Hattis played in all 13 Stanford games as a junior. He started the first six games for the Cardinal his senior season before suffering a season-ending left leg injury against Washington in early October.
The Cardinal was leading, and driving, midway through the third quarter when a Washington defender dove to make a tackle, missed, and rolled up on Hattis’ left leg. He was carted off the field.
The 6-foot-7, 310-pound Hattis had surgery that night to repair a broken tibia and his rehabilitation continues even now that he has returned to New Mexico to
complete the spring semester — and his academic requirements at Stanford — online.
“(The leg) is doing really good,” he said. “My definition of 100 percent would be being at the point I was at when I hurt it, so I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent yet.”
Hattis returned home from California in mid-March and continues his rehab. But not having in-person access to medical personnel has somewhat complicated his comeback.
“I wouldn’t call it a setback,” he said. “But it’s definitely been very frustrating. Talking to a lot of my ex-teammates at Stanford, we’ve all been kind of frustrated, not being able to use the facilities and resources we would have under (normal) circumstances. It probably hasn’t been as efficient as when I was at Stanford, but I’m making it work.”
Hattis was largely rated as the state’s top high school recruit his senior season with the Storm. He was a two-time, first-team All-State tackle for Cleveland.
With those ties, returning to the metro area and being a Lobo was something Hattis weighed, albeit briefly.
“I was actually planning to take an
official visit to UNM once coach (Danny) Gonzales came in,” he said, “but I knew I wanted to go to Arizona State, and I didn’t want to waste their time or resources when I’d kind of made up my mind.” &WFO BT IF QMBOT UP SFBDI UIF OFYU
football level, becoming a lawyer might also be an avenue for Hattis down the road.
Hattis is finishing up his political science degree at Stanford and will graduate soon. He said he thinks he could make an impact on areas like government policy, health care and civil rights after delving into ASU’s legal studies master’s degree program.
“I’m kind of an argumentative person,” Hattis said with a chuckle. “I definitely have an entrepreneurial spirit, if that kind of career path takes me that way.”
The online program at ASU means Hattis could complete it from anywhere, even another state if he is prepping for the 2021 NFL Combine and/ or next year’s NFL Draft.
But for now, he’s ready to say his goodbye to Stanford.
“I’m grateful for my experience there,” Hattis said. “There was no aspect of life there that was easy. … It was a constant challenge.
“I’m gonna miss it, but I’m excited for this new chapter in my life.”