Max Hall
| Max Hall | |
|---|---|
| College | Brigham Young University |
| Conference | MWC |
| Sport | Football |
| Position | QB |
| Class | RS Junior |
| Career | 2004–present |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | October 1, 1985 Mesa, Arizona |
| High school | Mountain View High School, Mesa, Arizona |
| Career highlights | |
Max Hall (born October 1985 in Mesa, Arizona) is the starting quarterback for the BYU Cougars college football team. Hall joined the Arizona State Sun Devils football team in 2004, and transferred to BYU in 2006.
Personal, early life and high school
Hall is a nephew to Danny White and grandson to Wilford White, ASU Hall-of-Famers. He went to the same high school as the quarterback he took over for at BYU, John Beck. As a junior in 2002, he earned the starting quarterback job for the Mountain View High School Toros, and he led the team to the state championship (14-0), earning MVP, offensive player of the year as well as other honors. As a senior in 2003 he led his team to another state title game, and broke several Toro career passing yards and other records just two years after Beck had broken several of them. Hall was named as the All-Arizona quarterback his senior year by the Arizona Republic.
He also lettered twice as a guard on the Toro's top-ranked basketball team.
Hall is married to Mckinzi Gissel, and his brother in-law is his teammate, TE Dennis Pitta.
College career
Hall redshirted at ASU in 2004. In 2006, after returning home early from his LDS mission to Iowa [1], Hall transferred to BYU and quarterbacked the scout team while sitting out the season.
In 2007, John Beck's departure from BYU left a wide open competition for the starting quarterback position. Cade Cooper, a junior college transfer from Snow College, and Brenden Gaskins, a junior college transfer from Glendale Community College, joined Hall and Jacob Bower to compete for the position. Bower transferred out to Bakersfield College soon after, and the competition came down to Hall and Cooper. Cooper suffered a season-ending injury in the annual Spring game. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall immediately named Hall as the starting quarterback and Gaskins as the backup for the 2007 season.
Hall was named first-team All-Mountain West Conference as a sophomore after throwing for 3,848 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 12 interceptions. His 137.7 rating was the 21st best in BYU history, and the fifth best by a sophomore. His 3,848 yards ranked 8th in the NCAA and his 26 touchdown throws tied Hall for 22nd in the NCAA. He was lauded for his poise and maturity so early in his career, including a 4th down and 18 conversion in the year end rivalry game versus Utah. His record in his first season as BYU starting quarterback was 11-2, with a Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl victory over UCLA.
On November 22, 2008 Hall was intercepted five times and lost one fumble, contributing to a 24-48 loss to the University of Utah. After the game he proclaimed that Utah didn't beat BYU but that BYU beat themselves.
On September 5, 2009 Hall led his team to a win over then third-ranked (now unranked) Oklahoma, throwing for 328 yards and two touchdowns in a 14-13 victory. This performance garnered the Cougars a No. 9 ranking in the following AP poll. However, BYU was then beaten by Florida State and TCU at home allowing the Cougars to complete the regular season with an strong 10 win and 2 loss 2009 season.
On November 28, 2009 Hall and his team won a close game against the Utah Utes in overtime 26-23. After the game, Hall commented that "I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, I hate their fans, I hate everything." When asked about these comments later, Hall stated "I think the whole university, their fans and their organization is [sic] classless."[2]
Hall further stated that the rivalry between Utah and BYU hurt him the most when Utah fans harassed members of his family by spitting on them, dumping beer on them, and even physically assaulted them. He said that a few fans said "vile" things about his mother, wife and religion. He said that his family had to be escorted to their car by police after the game on November 28. Hall later apologized for his comments about all the Utah being "classless," saying that his remarks were intended towards those who hurt his family.[3]
References
- ^ "Feisty Quarterback Could Help B.Y.U. Crash the B.C.S." New York Times. 2008-08-23. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
- ^ "BYU's Hall goes off on U of U, 'classless' Ute fans". Salt Lake Tribune. 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
- ^ http://www.ksl.com/?nid=635&sid=8847556