Harrison

Hand

Via The Athletic’s draft guru, Dane Brugler, “A one-year starter at Temple, Hand was the boundary cornerback in defensive coordinator Jeff Knowles scheme, playing both man and zone coverages. He was part of ex-coach Matt Rhule’s first recruiting class at Baylor, but called Waco a ‘big culture shock’ and made a smooth transition to Temple in 2019, leading the team in interceptions. Hand is a competitive player with the eyes and toughness required to read and react, trusting his vision and not allowing himself to overthink things. While he isn’t a poor athlete, he doesn’t play with sudden qualities and lacks the textbook technique to help compensate. Overall, Hand is quick to sort from off coverage, but lacks the necessary twitch in his hips and feet to be a consistent playmaker at the position, projecting as a possible backup zone corner.”

Looking the part is half the battle for NFL prospects, but that seems to be the only part of the battle Hand (5'11/197) can win. Zierlein’s weakness column for Hand is littered with notes about Hand’s movement skills (or lack thereof). Though Hand did crush the jumping drills at the Combine, he struggled mightily in the agility drills and ran an average 40-yard dash, all of which drives home Zierlein’s questions about how well Hand can move around at the NFL level.

Hand (5'11/197) also posted a 133-inch broad jump on Sunday. Those are both top five among defensive backs, and show that the former Temple defender has plenty of explosiveness. Unfortunately, his 40-yard dash time was middling, as he clocked in at 4.52 seconds in Indy. That’s not a horrible time by any stretch, but Hand likely keeps his Day 3 prospect status.

Hand (6'0/192) skipped the Military Bowl after having surgery to fix a finger on his left hand. He started all 12 games prior to that. Hand posted 59 tackles, three interceptions, and four pass breakups in 2019. The former Baylor Bear is known to be a physical corner with nifty feet. He could go in the middle rounds.

Hand (6'0/192), who’s expected to compete for a starting spot in the Temple secondary, also missed time during Monday’s practice due to the hamstring issue. “We are trying to get ahead of that because he had a little of that in the spring,” Temple HC Rod Carey according to Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Enquirer. “He missed a little bit yesterday, but we are trying to get ahead of that with him.” Hand, an honorable mention all-Big 12 selection as a freshman in 2017, made a total of 13 starts in his two seasons at Baylor.

A very strong get for the Owls. Hand emerged as a starter for the Bears in his freshman year, and while he only started four games for Baylor as a sophomore, he appeared in eight games and started four. He’s an outstanding athlete who made Bruce Feldman’s “freak” list after showing a 40-inch vertical and 4.31 second 40 yard dash that summer. If he doesn’t get a waiver, he’ll have to sit out the 2019 season, but he’ll have two more years of eligibility for the Owls starting in 2020.

Hand impressed Dohn in The Opening regional work earlier this offseason. The analyst wants to see a repeat showing at The Opening (proper) in Beaverton, Oregon, this week. He believes that “a strong performance could mean more summer offers.” Not only that, he also thinks such a performance might be enough to earn the 5-foot-11, 183-pounder a fourth star when Scout releases their next set of rankings. Virginia Tech, Ohio State and (especially) Rutgers are all in hot pursuit for Hand’s commitment.

Hand of fate. Hand me down. Hands across Waco. Handy dandy. Hands down a winner. I wanna hold your Hand. Just any number of puns you can expect to see on Rotoworld over the coming years with this baby Bear. The 5-foot-11, 183-pounder calls Cherry Hill, New Jersey, home and ranks as Rivals’ No. 25 cornerback prospect in the current cycle. He earned a bump from three- to four-star status on Scout.com thanks in part to strong work on the summer camp circuit. Scout’s Brian Dohn loves the physicality that Hand shows, but would like to see him smooth out the footwork on his backpedal, as he sometimes has a tendency to get slowed in transition once the ball is in the air. Hand does offer the requisite speed to stick with faster receivers in the Big 12, at least.

“According to [Baylor head coach Matt] Rhule, the 6-0, 193-pound Hand broad jumped an amazing 11-5 to go with a 40-inch vertical and a 4.31 40,” writes Feldman. That’s impressive, and Hand was impressive in his freshman campaign; making eighth pass breakups for the Bears. As Feldman writes, Hand “dazzled” with his athleticism this spring, and Hand could become a household name if he plays up to that ability in 2018.

Hand (5'11/183) has worked his way through the concussion protocol this week and looks to be ready to roll on Saturday barring a late setback. In eight games this season, the true freshman has turned in 37 tackles and eight passes defended. Rivals ranked him as the No. 25 corner in the 2017 class.