DeAngelo Eugene Hall (born November 19, 1983) is an American professional football coach and former defensive back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the eighth overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft. Hall played half a season for the Oakland Raiders before being released and signed by the Washington Redskins in 2008, playing for them until retiring following the 2017 season. In his playing career, he was a cornerback for the majority of his career before switching to free safety during his last few seasons.
Hall was invited to three Pro Bowls in his career: two with the Falcons and one with the Redskins. In 2010, he tied an NFL record by recording four interceptions in a game against the Chicago Bears, all of them in the second half. He also holds the NFL record for most fumble return yardage in a career, while his five career fumble return touchdowns ranks second behind Jason Taylor. Following his playing career, he began working as an on-air football analyst for several networks and programs as well as on the radio broadcast team for the Washington Commanders. Hall started his coaching career with the Carolina Panthers serving as their assistant defensive backs coach for two seasons.
Early life Hall attended Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he lettered in high school football, basketball, and track and field. At Deep Creek, he was a teammate of Chicago Bears' linebacker James Anderson and defensive end Darryl Tapp, who all also played together at Virginia Tech.
Football As a junior at Deep Creek High School, 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.
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 lead Deep Creek to the state AAA Division Six championship game, which they lost 28–26, to Centreville High School.
After his senior season, Hall earned all-district player of the year honors and was named to the all-district team as a running back, cornerback and return man. 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.
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 with a time of 6.93. He also placed third in the state AAA long jump as a senior, with a jump of 7.06 meters. He also ran the 55 metres in 6.40 seconds and was a member of the 4 × 100 m (41.76s) relay squad.
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. His accomplishments in college led to his induction into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Hall majored in secondary education while at Virginia Tech.
Freshman season 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. His first collegiate action was in the season-opener against Connecticut, during which he had three tackles, two assists and his first college interception. Hall made his first career start against Temple, 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.
Hall played in all 11 games, starting one, and recorded 24 solo stops, 18 assists, three pass breakups and three interceptions.
Sophomore season Hall started ten games at cornerback and also returned punts as a sophomore. In the first game of the season against Arkansas State, 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 which helped earn him the Big East Conference Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors. 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.
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.
Junior season 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 Central Florida. 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, 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. He had eight solo tackles and three assists against 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.
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.
Professional career
Atlanta Falcons 2004 The Atlanta Falcons selected Hall in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2004 NFL draft. He was the first cornerback selected in 2004 and became the third highest draft pick from Virginia Tech, following first overall picks Bruce Smith (1985) and Michael Vick (2001).
On August 3, 2004, the Falcons signed Hall to a five–year, $14.75 million rookie contract that included $7.49 million guaranteed and an initial signing bonus of $2.10 million.
He entered training camp slated as the No. 1 starting cornerback, following the departures of Tyrone Williams and Ray Buchanan. In August, Hall suffered an injury to his hip and was subsequently inactive for the first six games of the season (Weeks 1–6). In his absence, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell started Jason Webster and Kevin Mathis. On October 24, 2004, Hall made his professional regular season debut, but was limited to one pass deflection as the Falcons lost 10–56 at the Kansas City Chiefs. On October 31, 2004, Hall earned his first career start in lieu of Kevin Mathis and recorded four solo tackles during a 41–28 victory at the Denver Broncos season. Following Week 8, head coach Jim Mora retained Hall as starting cornerback for the rest of the season. In Week 12, Hall recorded five solo tackles, set a season-high with two pass deflections, and secured the Falcons' 21–24 victory against the New Orleans Saints by making his first career interception off a pass by Aaron Brooks to wide receiver Joe Horn with only nine seconds remaining in the game. On January 2, 2005, Hall had six total tackles (five solo), made two pass deflections, and made the first pick-six of his career after intercepting a pass by Matt Hasselbeck to wide receiver Jerry Rice and returning it 48–yards to score the first touchdown of his career during a 26–28 loss at the Seattle Seahawks. He finished his rookie season with a total of 36 combined tackles (29 solo), six pass deflections, two interceptions, a forced fumble, was credited with half a sack, and scored one touchdown in ten games and nine starts. He also set the record for being the youngest player to return an interception for a touchdown (21 years, 44 days).
The Atlanta Falcons finished the 2004 NFL season second in the NFC South with an 11–5 record and earned a first round bye. On January 15, 2005, Hall started in his first career playoff game and had one six–yard reception as the Falcons defeated the St. Louis Rams 47–17 in the NFC Divisional Round. On January 23, 2005, Hall started in the NFC Championship Game and recorded four combined tackles (three solo) during a 10–27 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles.
2005 He entered training camp slated as the de facto No. 1 starting cornerback. Head coach Jim Mora named him and Jason Webster as the starting cornerbacks to begin the season. On September 12, 2005, Hall started in the Atlanta Falcons' home-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. Although wide receiver Terrell Owens gained 112 receiving yards, Hall recorded five solo tackles, made two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Donovan McNabb to Terrell Owens and was able to stop Owens on many of the Eagles' third down attempts, and his tight coverage of Owens on the last possession of the game helped Atlanta clinch a 14–10 victory. In Week 5, he set a career-high with ten solo tackles during a 28–31 loss against the New England Patriots. On October 16, 2005, Hall made six combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and returned a fumble recovery that linebacker Michael Boley forced by running back Antowain Smith 66–yards for a touchdown during a 34–31 victory at the New Orleans Saints. In Week 16, Hall recorded four combined tackles (three solo), made a pass deflection, and set a career-high with his sixth interception of the season on a pass attempt by Chris Simms to wide receiver Joey Galloway during a 24–27 overtime loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was inactive as the Falcons lost 11–44 to the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 due to a shoulder injury. He finished the season with 66 combined tackles (59 solo), ten pass deflections, a career-high six interceptions, three fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and one touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career in 2005.
2006