Owls get a Hand on Defense

Jun 20, 2019Jun 20, 2019 Chris Kofsky 0 Comments

By: Adam Crognale

Image from: owlsports.com

Harrison Hand, a Junior cornerback from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, will be eligible to play for Temple Football in the upcoming 2019 season. This came following a transfer from Baylor to Temple in January. Earlier this week, OwlScoop officially broke the news that Hand will be immediately eligible to join the Owls without sitting out a year on the sideline due to NCAA transfer rules. Hand will now be eligible for both his junior and senior year.

Three years ago, Harrison Hand was looked at as one of the best prospects coming out of the Delaware Valley. According to OwlSports.com, he was ranked by scouts as the No. 1 cornerback prospect in all of New Jersey during recruitments. Hand was anticipated to head to North Broad when former Temple Head Coach Matt Rhule left the program in December of 2016 to take the head coaching position at Baylor University. Along with Coach Rhule went Fran Brown. From there, a domino effect began to take place with recruits such as Hand following in Rhule and Brown’s footsteps to Baylor.

Brown was on Temple’s staff for 6 years before going to Baylor. His return to the cherry and white for the 2019 season will mark his 7th season with the Owls. He will serve as the Co-Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks coach. Hand will work a lot with the highly respected coach who was ranked as a Top-10 recruiter by 24/7 Sports for his work with cornerbacks over the years. Brown sent a Temple defensive back to the NFL combine in 4 straight seasons from 2015-2018 including Tavon Young, Nate Hairston, Sean Chandler, and Derrek Thomas. Brown clearly has success as a coach turning college DB’s into pros; Hand will get his chance to raise his eventual draft stock starting in the fall.

In two seasons at Baylor, Hand played in 22 games with 13 starts. His eligibility comes at an important time in his career, especially with the departure of former Temple star Rock Ya-Sin who was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Hand could be looking to follow in Ya-Sins footsteps and become the next Temple transfer to make it to the pros at the defensive back position. Hand will join a cornerback room with Linwood Crump, Ty Mason, Chrisitian Braswell, and Kimere Brown. The Owls will start their season at home on August 31st against Bucknell where Hand should see his first action with the cherry and white.