With senior punter Jack Burgess out of eligibility, the Texas Tech coaches were looking to add competition and depth in the special teams room.
On Saturday night they accomplished their goal with a commitment from former SFA kicker/punter Jacob Hand. Upon officially entering the NCAA transfer portal on January 2nd, he says several coaches from different schools reached out.
“Some coaches that reached out were Memphis, Nevada, Ohio, UTEP, Sam Houston and USF.”
Hand will arrive in Lubbock with two seasons of eligibility remaining. He returned home from his Texas Tech visit on January 10th and made his commitment just hours later.
“The coaches were super welcoming and treated me like I was a part of a family right from the start,” says Hand, on why he chose Texas Tech. “There are a lot of resources for me to get better at my job and recover.
The facility and the field were probably my favorite. This was the first time I’ve seen the field and the facilities in person and it was unreal.”
For his career, Hand has made 3-of-4 field goals attempts with a career long of 56 yards. He is also 1-of-1 on extra points.
He has primarily been a kickoff specialist during his time as a Lumberjack. Since arriving in Nacogdoches he has kicked off 155 times for 9,659 yards, including 87 touchbacks.
“They will getting my best every single kick and I will work to be the best version of me I can be.”
Hand will join a Texas Tech special teams unit that currently includes kicker Stone Harrington and punter/kicker Ian Hershey.
The Red Raiders currently have the No. 1 rated transfer portal class in the country per On3’s College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings.
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