Former Sam Houston State University defensive end P.J. Hall has been gaining some more attention and creating buzz ever since his performance at the SHSU Pro Day on Mar 26.
Some of the teams that have already met and talked to Hall include the New England Patriots, who took Hall out to dinner the night before and have shown the most interest, the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders just to name a few.
NFL Draft Analyst of the NFL Network and co-host of “The Bench” on 97.5 FM Houston Lance Zierlein has a feeling that Hall is someone in the draft to watch for as a sleeper pick.
“You have 42 career sacks, 86.5 tackles for loss, 14 blocked kicks and then he had nine forced fumbles and four interceptions just for fun,” Hall said. “This is Grady Jarrett all over again, including the orange uniform. I love PJ Hall and I think he goes sometime in the third or fourth round.”
Hall’s career numbers are new all-time records at SHSU. The two-time first-team Associated Press FCS All-American complied 86.5 TFL for 406 yards is a school record, as well as his 42 career sacks which are No. one all-time in Bearkat history. Hall passed Andre Finley who held the record before Hall at 36 career sacks from the 1986-1989 seasons.
Bearkats football head coach KC Keeler, in a phone call with NFL Network in late March, talked about the raw ability of Hall.
“It’s uncanny how he does it,” Keeler said. “I don’t know if you can teach it. I know no one here will take any credit for teaching it. He’s just really, really good at it.”
Hall was keeping some of his bag of tricks for the Pro Day and believes he turned some heads with his performance on Mar 26.
“Everybody knew I could move a little bit, but I don’t think they expected me to be that explosive,” Hall said. “There was kind of a ‘Whoa’ after I jumped.”
Other notable Bearkats include Two-time Walter Payton Award winner and Bearkat quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe, who was not able to participate in the Bearkat Pro Day due to injury but was still in attendance. Briscoe was, on Apr 4, invited to the Houston Texans’ local prospect day, according to a league source not authorized to speak publicly. During his career at SHSU, Briscoe threw for 11,488 yards with 116 touchdowns and 31 interceptions, as well as a completion percentage of 59.1 percent. Briscoe is expected to be undrafted.
The 2018 NFL Draft is set for Apr 26- Apr 28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
