A quarterback’s hand size really does matter

SOME coaches will tell you it’s the size of your heart that matters most. Well, in this sport, the size of your hands is just as crucial.

MINNEAPOLIS - OCTOBER 05: Quarterback Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to the start of the game agains...

IT’S Combine week, and hundreds of NFL evaluators will be watching closely to get a better gauge on everything. Pretty much every player in Indy has gone to various Combine training places to improve on, among other things: their 40s, their shuttle times, their vertical jumps, the amount of times they can bench press 100kg and how well they can present their football savvy in a classroom setting.

Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen has worked diligently on all those things at a camp in South Florida. In addition, he’s also worked on something else — trying to increase his hand size. Well, more specifically, his hand measurement.

The size of a quarterback’s hand has gained increased attention in the past few years. For my book “The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks,” I spoke with Tom Rossley, who was the Green Bay Packers’ former offensive co-ordinator and later recruited Johnny Manziel to Texas A&M when he was the Aggies’ quarterbacks coach.

Rossley said one of the first things they looked at when they evaluated quarterbacks in Green Bay was how big their hands were, “because of how Brett (Favre) was and how well he could play in cold weather,” Rossley said.

“That’s such a key with handling the ball, controlling the ball, and with the snap coming out. “The size of a quarterback’s hands is even more important than his height.”

Favre’s hands were measured by the NFL years ago (from thumb tip to pinkie tip) at 10 3⁄8 inches (26.3cm). For comparison’s sake, Tony Romo’s hand was measured at 22.5cm Anything bigger than 24.1cm is considered large for an NFL QB prospect.

Big hands are a quarterback’s best friend.

While many may figure the biggest issue with small hands manifests itself in fumbling, the coaches and personnel people FOX Sports spoke with say it’s really more about being able to grip and throw the ball in inclement weather.

At the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, last month, Allen’s hands were measured at 22.5cm — the smallest of all the QBs there.

“It’s obviously something I can’t control,” Allen said, before adding that as part of his draft training process, the masseuse who helps the athletes with recovery has also been working twice a week on stretching out the QB’s hands “to maybe get another half inch or quarter inch here or there because the muscles in my hands were really tight and this can loosen them up. I have long fingers.

“It’s worth a shot.”

ESPN research found that since 2008 there had been 39 quarterbacks who had been measured with a hand size of 23.5cm or smaller; less than one-fifth of them had even gone on to start half a season in the NFL and none had made a Pro Bowl.

Brandon Allen didn’t play in anything close to an Ice Bowl in college. He did play well though in two games that were in less than ideal weather. Against Miss. State when the temperature was in the mid-30s, he went 30-of-43 for 406 yards, throwing seven TDs and zero picks in a 51-50 loss. The other game was vs. Mizzou in sleeting rain, and he went 11-of-17 for 102 yards without a TD pass and one INT in a 28-3 Razorbacks win.

Former NFL GM Phil Savage is both the Alabama Crimson Tide radio colour analyst and the Senior Bowl executive director. He’s seen plenty of Allen and is impressed by how much the 188cm, 100kg player has improved over the past three seasons.

In 2015, Allen actually led the country in QBR rating at 87.8 and was tops in the SEC in passer rating at 166.48 despite playing a chunk of the season without three of the Razorbacks’ top four receivers.

Cam Newton’s hands let him down in the Super Bowl.

Savage said Allen’s hand size is “problematic for the teams that play in (cold weather) conditions.

“However, I’ve been a Brandon Allen fan. He did some pro-style-like things at Arkansas with play-action passing. He came through for them in his senior year, when they won close games. I thought he had some solid practices and had a really good game, going 7-for-10 (in the Senior Bowl). I think he fits a team that runs the traditional West Coast offense because he’s got quick feet. He’s got a quick arm and I think Brandon has quick eyes as well.

“Like I tell players all the time, you don’t have to convince 32 teams. All you have to do is convince one team, and I think he can do that.”

Allen, the son of a former Arkansas defensive co-ordinator Bobby Allen, who has been on the Razorbacks coaching staff for almost two decades, shrugs his shoulders at this hand size talk.

“I didn’t even know it was even a thing till this year,” he said, pointing out that he felt like he had more zip on his passes than other guys at the Senior Bowl.

Allen didn’t realise how big or small his hands were till he measured them before the season while he was at a youth football camp.

“I’ve never dropped a ball or never had fumbling problems. I don’t think it’s really a factor.”

Like most things you’ll hear in Indy, hand size matters because, well, everything matters. Kinda. How much it matters depends on whom you ask.

Originally published as A quarterback’s hand size really does matter