DeAngelo Eugene Hall (born November 19, 1983) is an American football cornerback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted with the eighth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at Virginia Tech.
Hall was also a member of the Oakland Raiders.
Hall attended Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he lettered in high school football, basketballand in track and field. At Deep Creek, he was a teammate of Carolina Panthers‘ linebacker James Anderson (American football) and defensive end Darryl Tapp. Hall, Tapp and Anderson also played together collegiately at Virginia Tech.
[edit]Football
As a junior at Deep Creek, Hall averaged 9.8 yards a carry as a running back and had seven interceptions as a cornerback. He was chosen as the district offensive and defensive player of the year and was a first-team pick as a defensive back on the All-Tidewater team.[1]
As a senior, Hall scored 30 touchdowns and rushed for over 1,300 yards while averaging ten yards per carry. He also intercepted nine passes, posted over 100 tackles and had 16 tackles for loss. During his senior season, Hall helped Deep Creek to the state AAA Division Six championship game.[1] Deep Creek and Hall, lost to fellow Washington Redskin, Will Montgomery of Centreville High School in the State AAA Finals, 28 to 26.
After the season, Hall earned all-district player of the year honors and was named to the all-district team as a running back, defensive back and return man.[1] He was also named Tidewater Player of the Year and the Norfolk Sports Club Player of the Year. The Associated Press picked him as a first-team Group AAA defensive back, and he was ranked the No. 2 player in Virginia by The Roanoke Times.[1]
[edit]Track and field
Hall was a sprinter on the track team and placed sixth at the junior nationals in the 60-meter dash as a junior. He also placed third in the state AAA long jump as a senior.[1]
[edit]College career
Hall recorded 190 tackles, 20 passes defensed, eight interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and seven receptions for 86 yards with one touchdown in his three-year career at Virginia Tech. He returned 56 punts for 839 yards and five touchdowns. His 839 yards rank third on the Big East Conference career-record chart while his five returns for touchdowns rank second in conference history. Hall is one of the few players in college football history to score touchdowns on offense, defense, and special teams during their collegiate career.
Hall majored in secondary education while at Virginia Tech.
[edit]Freshman
Hall started strong in college, and turned in the fastest 40-yard dash among the freshmen at 4.37 in preseason strength and conditioning testing and also bench pressed 300 pounds.[1] His first collegiate action was in the season-opener against the University of Connecticut, during which he had three tackles, two assists and his first college interception. Hall made his first career start against Temple University, during which he played a season-high 78 total snaps, recording six solo tackles, five assists, two passes broken up and an interception. He had four tackles, including one for a 3-yard loss, during Virginia Tech’s loss in the 2002 Gator Bowl against Florida State University.[1]
Hall played in all 11 games, starting one, and recorded 24 solo stops, 18 assists, three pass breakups and three interceptions.[1]
[edit]Sophomore
Hall started ten games at cornerback and also returned punts as a sophomore. In the first game of the season againstArkansas State University, he returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown, and then returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown. He recorded four tackles and a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown against Rutgers University, which helped earn him the Big East Conference Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors.[1] Hall had an assisted tackle and a pass broken up in Virginia Tech’s victory in the 2002 San Francisco Bowl against Air Force. He was ranked seventh in the nation in punt returns, averaging 16.0 yards per return, and had a long of 71 yards and two touchdowns. He had 36 solo tackles and 19 assists, four interceptions, 12 passes broken up and a forced fumble.[1]
During spring training, Hall posted the fastest forty time ever for a Tech football player with a timing of 4.15 in Virginia Tech’s Rector Field House.[1]
[edit]Junior
As a junior, Hall became the first Tech player in nearly six years to play both ways in a game when he saw ten plays on offense and 28 on defense against the University of Central Florida.[1] During the game, he caught two passes for 41 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown, and had two solo tackles and an assist on defense. During the game against Syracuse University, he scored three touchdowns, and set a Virginia Tech and Big East record with two punt returns for touchdowns, as well as a 24-yard touchdown run on offense. After the game, Hall earned Big East Special Teams Player of the Week honors.[1] He had eight solo tackles and three assists against theUniversity of Miami, as well as a forced fumble, fumble recovery and 28-yard touchdown all on the same play to open Tech’s scoring. This performance earned him Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors.[1]
After the season, Hall was a second-team All-American selection, and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back, as he ranked sixth on the team with a career-high 93 tackles.
[edit]Professional career
[edit]Atlanta Falcons
[edit]2004 Season - 2007 Season
Hall was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with 8th overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. He finished his first season with 35 tackles and two interceptions. He also set the record for being the youngest player to return an interception for a touchdown (21 years, 44 days).
One of Hall’s finest moments came when he was assigned to one of the NFL’s premier wide receivers, Terrell Owens of the Philadelphia Eagles, on Monday Night Football. Although Owens gained 112 receiving yards, Hall was able to stop Owens on many of the Eagles’ third down attempts, and his tight coverage of Owens on the last Eagle possession of the game helped Atlanta clinch a 14-10 victory on September 12, 2005.
Hall performed well during the 2005-2006 season, especially in prime time games. In the four prime time games he has played, he has had three interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
During a Monday Night Football game in 2005, after an interception, Hall held up a sign that read, “Aloha, see you in Hawaii”, obviously making a case for a Pro Bowl bid. In 2005, Hall was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. While at the 2005 Pro Bowl, Hall was the winner of the “NFL’s Fastest Man Competition”, a contest with the fastest players in the NFL.
Hall is close friends with many elite receivers in the NFL, including the Dolphins Chad Johnson. On an appearance on the NFL Network, Johnson and Hall made a wager on their upcoming 2006 matchup: should Johnson catch two touchdown passes, Hall would be obligated to wait tables at an Atlanta restaurant owned by Bengals tackleWillie Anderson. Should Johnson fail, he would be forced to shave the bleach-blonde mohawk he had grown over the off-season. After the game was over (which the Falcons won) it was accepted that Hall was the “winner,” as Johnson only caught one touchdown pass. Johnson honorably held up his end of the bargain and shaved his mohawk.
In preseason 2007, Hall shaved “I own 85″ into the back of his head in reference to his ongoing rivalry with Johnson. Johnson had the last laugh however, breezing past Hall on occasions and making five catches for more than 80 yards and a touchdown.
In the Falcons 2007 game against the New Orleans Saints, Hall showed his support for fellow Falcon and former Hokie Michael Vick by carrying a poster of Vick onto the field with him, and also wearing “MV7″ written on the shade under his eyes. Earlier that day, Vick, who was also a Virginia Tech teammate of Hall’s, was sentenced to 23 months in prison on dogfighting charges.[2] Hall was fined $10,000 by the league for his actions.[3]
Hall in his final game with the Raiders in 2008
[edit]Oakland Raiders
[edit]2008 Season
On March 20, 2008, Hall was traded to the Oakland Raiders for their second-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft (traded to theWashington Redskins) and fifth-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The trade became official when he agreed on a seven-year, $70 million contract with $24.5 million guaranteed.[4] On November 5, Hall was released by the Oakland Raiders after “he failed to adapt to the Raiders’ man-to-man style of defense and was regularly beaten by opposition receivers during the opening half of the season.”[5] In total, Hall received $8 million—a $7 million signing bonus and $1 million in base salary—for playing eight games for Oakland.[6]
[edit]Washington Redskins
[edit]Rest of 2008 Season
Hall signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins on November 8, 2008. The team released cornerback Leigh Torrenceto make room for Hall. In his first game with the Redskins, against the Dallas Cowboys, Hall intercepted a pass from Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. He finished his first year with the Redskins with 25 tackles, two interceptions and eight pass deflections in seven games (four starts).
[edit]2009 Season
Hall at Redskins training camp in 2009.
An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Hall agreed to a new six-year contract with the Redskins on February 27.[7] The deal contained $23 million in guaranteed money and had a maximum value of $55 million.[7]
[edit]2010 Season
On October 24, 2010, during a game against the Chicago Bears, Hall recorded four interceptions, tying an NFL record. He returned one of the picks 92 yards for a touchdown.[8] The Redskins won the turnover laden game (nine turnovers overall) 17-14. Hall’s jersey from this game was sent by request to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for display in the “Pro Football Today Gallery,” an area stocked with memories of recent history-making performances. Midway through the season, Hall was voted as a co-defensive captain along with London Fletcher.[9] Hall was the 2011 Pro Bowl MVP due to his performance which included 6 tackles, an interception, and a fumble returned for a touchdown. After the game Hall stated he was a “ball hawk”.
[edit]2011 Season
For the 2011 season, Hall continued to be co-defensive captain along with Fletcher.[10] After the Redskins lost to the Dallas Cowboys in overtime in Week 11, Hall said to the press, “The way I’m playing right now, they need to cut me, because I’m definitely not worth what I’m getting.” [11] Hall would then record five tackles, five pass break-ups, and an interception in Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks. Due to his performance in Week 12, Hall was named NFC defensive player of the week on November 30, 2011.[12] Hall finished the season recording 90 combined tackles, 16 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and three interceptions.
[edit]2012 Season
During the 2012 preseason, it was reported that Hall would switch from the outside corner position to the nickelback position.[13]
[edit]Personal
Hall, while a gifted athlete, is “nearly as well known for his outspoken demeanor.”[14] He “has been nicknamed MeAngelo for his selfish style of play.”[15][16][17][18][19]
He has advocated for the passage of the FIT Kids Act, federal legislation that would require school districts to report on students’ physical activity and to give youngsters health and nutritional information.[20]
