Herb Hand was ‘huge’ in Calvin Anderson’s decision to pick Texas

Calvin Anderson is coming home, but he’s not coming home just to come home.

The Rice Owls graduate transfer offensive tackle who committed to the Texas Longhorns on Saturday was clear throughout his second recruitment that he was making a business decision.

And new Texas co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Herb Hand quickly got down to business recruiting Anderson while at Auburn — he was the first coach to go see the 6’6, 300-pounder and made a “huge” difference in Anderson’s decision.

In part, that was because when Hand made the transition from burnt orange and navy blue to burnt orange and white, his recruiting pitch didn’t change. As Anderson focused on positioning himself for success in the NFL, Hand’s message resonated.

“From the beginning, he’s talked very specifically about why he wants to coach me,” Anderson told Sports Illustrated. “He really sold me on why he thinks I’m a good player and on the things he can help coach me to get better at. It was not as much of a recruiting pitch change as you might think. He said he can help fix my stance, get it more square, help me play with better pad level, teach me some technique things as far as double teams and stepping off the ball which will help me to maximize my ability to use my leverage.”

It’s been less than two months since the Longhorns announced Hand’s hire, but he’s already made a significant different for the program and heightened the odds of a jump in wins during head coach Tom Herman’s second season.