Monday, August 26, 2013

#1 in USA -- Da’Shawn Hand: A vaunted college football recruit with a hefty decision on his mind

WOODBRIDGE, Virginia  --  In the last daylight hours of the last aimless day of the last carefree summer of Da’Shawn Hand’s childhood, he stood in front of a dusty trophy case full of ancient glories and daydreamed.

“Freshman year, I stood right here and looked at this,” he said in a near-whisper, his eyes locked in on the trophies and plaques inside, some of them dating from the 1960s. “I was like, ‘Dang, I want to lead this team to some championships. I want to be in this trophy case.’ ”

Late afternoon was melting into evening, the last day of July, the day before the Woodbridge High Vikings’ first football practice. The only sound in that part of the school’s main lobby was the hum of a nearby soda machine and the distant chants of the cheerleading squad practicing down some unseen hallway.

“When I was 8, I had a dream,” said Hand, a 6-foot-4, 256-pound senior defensive end who is one of the most sought-after high school players in the country. “I couldn’t make this up. I had a baby-blue suit on. I was committing to a college. I was a wide receiver — ’cause that’s what my dad was. ‘The number one player in the nation — Da’Shawn Hand! What school is he going to choose?’ ”

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Da'Shawn's college choices

WOODBRIDGE, Virginia  --  There were 94 official offers, recalls Da'Shawn Hand, the senior defensive end at Woodbridge High who is rated as the nation's No. 1 high school recruit by Rivals.com.

 
Once Hand, who has a 3.71 GPA, investigated academic considerations such as which schools offered one or all of his potential majors (civil engineering, architecture/design and sports marketing/management), he whittled the list to a top 10: Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.
 
According to Rivals.com's Mike Farrell, Hand was down to five by early January: Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. Farrell said Hand replaced North Carolina with Florida by February, and further streamlined his list in July ...
 

Da'Shawn's inner circle

WOODBRIDGE, Virginia  --  Hand, a 6’4”, 256-lb 5-star recruit, has earned the moniker “The #1 recruit in the country.” Hand received more than fifty scholarship offers, but has narrowed his list to Alabama, Florida and Michigan. Despite his accomplishments on the field, Hand has consistently said he considers academics just as important as football. He is planning to major in some combination of architecture, engineering, and sports marketing and management. Hand’s goals for the 2013 season include 30 sacks and a state championship.

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