Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

WALTERBORO, SC (WCSC) - Former Walterboro star and NFL player Norman Hand died Friday morning in Colleton County at the age of 37. A cause of death has not been released by the county coroner.

Hand was an honorable mention All-American by Parade Magazine and USA Today his senior season at Walterboro. He was also named the SCHSL Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1990.

He went on to play at the University of Mississippi after transferring from Itawamba Junior College. He had 3.5 sacks his senior year with the Rebels and was a second team All-SEC selection.

From there, Hand was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins in 1995 and went on to have a 10 year career in the league playing with the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants.

He ended his pro career after the 2004 season with 22.5 sacks and 2 interceptions.

Hand was the first football player to reach the NFL from Walterboro.

Former Walterboro, NFL player Norman Hand passes - CHARLESTON, SC NEWS - LIVE 5 WCSC Breaking News, Weather, Sports

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

No..he was too young..this is terrible....

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Horrible.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Man down..... He put in some quality snaps for us. Saint forever

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

awwww i must say reading the thread title i was shocked, i remember i used to beast with him in madden i owned the sack records during franchises, i remember having 42 sacks in 1 season with the guy so sad to hear it, im glad he got to see the Saints party with the lombardi

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

bummer

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Man I really liked Big Wiggle!!! I remember being sad when he left the team....now he has left the earth....sux man...RIP big guy!:(

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

RIP big guy. Way way too young

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Rip big wiggle!

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Dang!!! C'mon man! What a great guy Hand was on and off the field. RIP Norm.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

So sad!!!! :(

He was an absolute beast stuffing the run up the middle and he could out right boogie to the ball despite his size. He had the best cuts, shifts and momentum changes for a guy his size I've ever seen.... also a super sweet personality to boot! How could you not love him. Such a shame!

http://www.bestsportsphotos.com/images/t_26342_05.jpg

I remember in '01 after beating the Rams to advance to the Wild Card round, where they would face the Rams again, he came out and stated that they would hold Marshall Faulk to under 50 yards rushing!!! He was reminded that Faulk had just ran for over 100 yards on them.... he smugly held his head high and repeated his outlandish claim. I don't know why, but at the time, it didn't seem jaded, and I know from my own personal feelings, I was confident in him and it just got me pumped up (opposed to scratching my head). Turns out, they held Faulk to under 25 yards.... EPIC! That is and was to this day, the boldest claim I've heard made and delivered in the game.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

also, I don't know the circumstances regarding his death.... but I've got a feeling a lot of issues are going to be made in regards to oversized players and their health following this. I don't know if y'all remember, but around the time he was finishing his duties as a Saint.... there was a big news story about oversized players and their helath risk. It literally featured him. It also talked about his Fried Chicken place he opened up and all. but in all, the theme was the high health risk these overweight guys face especially when they retire from the game. Regretfully, he was also let go from the Saints because of lingering weight issues and lack of the ability to reach target weights. I faintly remember a coach or team personnel coming out and publically saying they were concerned about his weight.... not as it pertained to playing the game, but for his own health.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

the hand that rocked the cradle (QBs) like me and my old man used to yell at him. RIP BIG WIGGLE.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

God Bless Norman, you left us way to soon. Prayers and thoughts go out to his family.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

i do remember he opened a wings place or something of sort nice call. what a big teddy bear.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

My condolensces to his family.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

So sad. :(

RIP Norman Hand.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

when I applied for college, one of the questions for the place I eventually ended up going to was to name three people you would like to have dinner with. this was spring of '01, and Big Norm was one of them.

RIP.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Hey Norman say hi to JoeSam and Buddy D for us. Damn, just damn!

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

That's too bad, RIP.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Another good man gone. RIP........He's a Saint for life.(forever)

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

Immovable Object at times. RIP Norman.

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

from Peter King's Twitter:

" Ten years ago, Norman Hand was Haloti Ngata, a great, athletic run-stuffer. Hand died Friday. Good man, too. RIP. "

and he re-tweeted:
" I remember Hand especially as Saint. The Heavy Lunch Bunch ... In 2000, Haslett had one of best D's in NFL. La'Roi Glover too."

Re: Former Saint Norman Hand has died
 

An Ole Miss alum, and a Saint, great as both.... I remember him winning Howie Long's Defensive player of the year award in 2000. HL showed up at practice to give him a brand new Chevy truck, and the award. He looked absolutely stunned. Terrible news. Good bye ole friend... Thank you for the great memories..