First off Happy Thanksgiving to all on this site. There are a few turkeys on this site and today they will get the presidential pardon. That does not keep us from working. The Seminoles season ends this weekend against Florida. This week is essentially a bowl game. Go out and ruin the Gators season. We are breaking down the OL Coaching search and will discuss Herb Hand, UCF OL Coach There is a very good chance that Gus Malzahn is fired after this weekend and Hand is available.
Why Herb Hand: He was a GA at Clemson, coached tight ends and was a recruiting coordinator at West Virginia. He was an OC at Tulsa. He and Norvell crossed paths at Tulsa when both coached in 2007-2009. He coached in the SEC (Vandy/Auburn). He coached at Texas and is now at UCF.
While at UCF has been 29th rushing (21), 9th rushing (22), 5th rushing (23) and 4th rushing (24). His offensive lines excel at running the football. What does Mike Norvell like to do, run the football? Since being at UCF his lines are consistently among the best at not missing assignments according to his Wikipedia page. His offensive lines at UCF were recorded to have the least amount of blown assignments on designed runs. He has guys drafted in the NFL. He checks a lot of boxes. In his career he has landed 1 (5) and 21 (4) star recruits. He coached guys like Donovan Smith (Penn State) who went onto to being a first round pick.
Why Not: He is (56). While not old (;-) Hand is not a young and up and coming coach. Some may see this as a negative. I really don't think age is a big deal with an OL coach. Most OL coaches coach and that is what they are good at. Can he recruit at a high level? He has done so in the past. He was at UCF where you are not going to get the elite of the elite OL.
Final Thoughts: I would have Garin Justice and Matt Applebaum ahead of Hand. Hiring him though would not be a bad thing. His success at UCF blocking for the run game is huge. For FSU to turn this thing around the OL must be able to run block. Look at UF in recent weeks. Their run game has come alive and given them a chance in games that most predicted them to lose. You can turn around a losing program quicker running the football. If they bring Marion in as the OC, Hand would be a good fit as he likes to run the ball. Hand would be a good hire IMHO.
Why Herb Hand: He was a GA at Clemson, coached tight ends and was a recruiting coordinator at West Virginia. He was an OC at Tulsa. He and Norvell crossed paths at Tulsa when both coached in 2007-2009. He coached in the SEC (Vandy/Auburn). He coached at Texas and is now at UCF.
While at UCF has been 29th rushing (21), 9th rushing (22), 5th rushing (23) and 4th rushing (24). His offensive lines excel at running the football. What does Mike Norvell like to do, run the football? Since being at UCF his lines are consistently among the best at not missing assignments according to his Wikipedia page. His offensive lines at UCF were recorded to have the least amount of blown assignments on designed runs. He has guys drafted in the NFL. He checks a lot of boxes. In his career he has landed 1 (5) and 21 (4) star recruits. He coached guys like Donovan Smith (Penn State) who went onto to being a first round pick.
Why Not: He is (56). While not old (;-) Hand is not a young and up and coming coach. Some may see this as a negative. I really don't think age is a big deal with an OL coach. Most OL coaches coach and that is what they are good at. Can he recruit at a high level? He has done so in the past. He was at UCF where you are not going to get the elite of the elite OL.
Final Thoughts: I would have Garin Justice and Matt Applebaum ahead of Hand. Hiring him though would not be a bad thing. His success at UCF blocking for the run game is huge. For FSU to turn this thing around the OL must be able to run block. Look at UF in recent weeks. Their run game has come alive and given them a chance in games that most predicted them to lose. You can turn around a losing program quicker running the football. If they bring Marion in as the OC, Hand would be a good fit as he likes to run the ball. Hand would be a good hire IMHO.
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