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Five-star defensive end Da'Shawn Hand committed to Alabama on national TV. (Photo courtesy of 247Sports)
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Faxes have started rolling into Alabama's Signing Day headquarters, and AL.com's beat writers are publishing profiles of each signee as Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban announces the next prize in Alabama's 2014 signing class.
School
: Woodbridge (Va.)
Position
: Strong-side defensive end
Height, Weight
: 6-foot-4, 265 pounds
247Sports composite ranking
: Five-star recruit no matter where you look. He's considered No. 1 at his position, No. 1 in the state of Virginia and No. 5 overall.
Other schools
: Michigan, Florida, Ohio State, Virginia Tech
How he fits into Alabama's plans
: A player of Hand's caliber is always welcome at Alabama, but his arrival comes at an ideal time. With fast-paced, spread offenses becoming more and more common throughout college football, fast-twitch pass rushers such as Hand have become a bigger priority in Alabama's past few recruiting classes. Hand can maintain his current size and potentially play at one of Alabama's outside linebacker spots or bulk up and line up on the defensive line.
Projection for 2014
: Even at a place with as much depth as Alabama, five-star recruits see the field more often than not as true freshmen. If Hand stays at his current size and plays Jack or Sam linebacker, he has the potential to compete for a legitimate spot in the rotation, especially with
Adrian Hubbard
gone to the NFL. If he transitions to defensive line, he still has the talent to work his way into the rotation, but there could be more competition for playing time.
What we've written about Hand
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What others have written about Hand
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Videos
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