DeANGELO HALL
Cornerback, Washington Redskins
Jersey: #23
Age: 25
Height/weight: 5-10/200 pounds
Born: 11/19
Home Town: Chesapeake, Virginia
College: Virginia Tech
Drafted: 1st round (8th overall) in 2004 by Atlanta Falcons.
NFL Experience: 6th season
NFL Honors: Pro Bowl, ’05 and ’06
NFL Stats: Career: 72 games played 67games started, 22 INT with 475 return yards and 2 TDs. 2008: 5 INT for 37 yards, 73 tackles.
College Honors: First Team All-American and Semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award at Virginia Tech in 2003.
Family: Wife, Jada Hall; Son, Tyrel, 7; Daughter, Mya, 3
PERSONAL FILES
Wackiest training camp prank?
My fourth year in Atlanta we had Lawyer Milloy, and he’s a pro who goes by the ways of the old NFL. This rookie came in, he was a crazy guy and he just kept talking. He felt like he had earned the right to talk and lecture us. He just would not stop talking. He was a feisty little dude, so one day we all just jumped on him and took some tape from the training room and taped up his hands, taped up his legs and threw him headfirst into the cold tub. From that point on we never had a problem with him again.
Nickname?
My mother used to always call me Speedy Deda.
Tattoos?
More than I can count, probably over 100. I have one portrait of my mom that’s dear to me and I just got a new one on my wrist with my jersey number 23 with the American flag pinched inside. But I love them all.
Best WR I’ve faced:
I would have to say Randy Moss. My friend Larry Fitzgerald is creeping up into the top 3, but Randy gives you a combination of raw speed and ball skills that are second to none. When a receiver can scare you deep and has great ball awareness, that’s a tough guy to cover. Larry is an athletic playmaker, with tremendous ball skills as well. But Randy bringing that raw speed into the equation, even a guy like me who has run a sub 4.2 still has to concentrate to make sure he doesn’t go by me. Some guys just don’t scare you with their speed, but he is one of those guys in the league that has me completely aware when I’m out guarding him.
Best defensive player I’ve played with:
Including Pro Bowls, it’s Julius Peppers. The freakish things he can do on the field are just amazing. Playing with him at the Pro Bowl, I was able to see it up close. He doesn’t have too many limitations. He’s 6-6, 290, but moves like he’s 6-1, 185 and has great athletic ability. He gets after it. A pure athlete.
Closest friends in football:
I came into the league with and around the same time as guys like Larry Fitzgerald and Chad Johnson, and you form a lot of bonds off the field with guys through the time at the Pro Bowl and things like that. When I first came into the league at 20, I was able to accomplish a lot because I had great mentors like Deion Sanders, Troy Vincent, Champ Bailey, Darrell Green, Michael Irvin and Cris Carter. Those guys among others explained to me that it was going to take time and hard work but that I could definitely make it in this league. When guys like that tell you that you have the potential to be one of the best it humbles you and makes you want to grind and do what it takes to be the best.
Favorite foods:
My mom’s lasagna. And she passed the recipe around, so also my wife’s lasagna and my brother’s lasagna.
Favorite movies:
It depends what mood I’m in. I can go for “Shawshank Redemption” anytime and I like all the gangster flicks, “Scarface,” “Casino,” “Goodfellas,” “The Godfather.” But if I had to pick just one I would probably watch “Shawshank.”
What’s in your iPod?
I like a lot of diversity in my music. Most people think I’m just Hip Hop but I like everything, Rascal Flatts, the All-American Rejects, Metallica, old school rock like Nickelback. At Virginia Tech we used to enter the stadium to Metallica’s Enter Sandman, it was unbelievable. I’m also a Chris Daughtry fan.
Superstitions:
My main superstition is to NOT do the same thing every game. I might have a hot dog an hour before kickoff one game, then the next game I have lasagna. I’ll change up my warm-up routine every week. Just to make sure there’s not one thing I’m doing that makes me believe I’m going to have a good game or a bad game. The only guarantee is that I will have some music on when I’m getting ready to play.
Best qualities for a person to have:
I definitely think honesty is up there at the top of the list, and loyalty. I’m a guy who always sticks up for the underdog, and that has probably gotten me the worst rap on the teams I’ve been on. If a coach or player is picking on a guy, I always stick up for them. That got me in trouble at Virginia Tech, then in the league, speaking up for guys who are number 52 or 53 on the roster. I definitely think it’s my responsibility to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.
Charitable endeavors:
The DeAngelo Hall Foundation is a nonprofit geared toward violence prevention. My brother was murdered at 25 when I was 12. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It hit our family pretty hard, and I was the youngest of 6. It was tough to see my mom go through that and just keep plugging away as a single parent. I definitely want my foundation to encourage people and families affected by violence to bounce back in the face of adversity. The foundation is geared toward violence prevention but we also donate time and financial support to other organizations. I’ve personally worked with healthy kids club, the Fit Kids Act of America and I have done some things with Usher’s foundation getting kids involved with arts and music as well as visiting the Veterans Hospital. I really want to use my celebrity to lend a hand to anyone in need and benefit my community.
My hero is:
My mom, Joan Hall. Her story of overcoming adversity to make it is just amazing. She actually just finished writing her first book, she’s an author now. I am proud of her. She worked 2 or 3 jobs to make my life easier and would never let me work so I could chase my dream of playing in the NFL.
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