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Leon Hall Draft Profile
LEON LASTARZA HALL
Cornerback/Free Safety
University of Michigan Wolverines
#29
5:11.2-193
Vista, California
Vista High School
OVERVIEW:
Regarded as one of the premier coverage cornerbacks in the collegiate ranks, Hall holds the school career record with 43 pass deflections, breaking up at least one pass in 26 of his final 42 games. The 2006 finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award (top defensive back) and Bronko Nagurski Award (top defensive player) played in 50 career games and made 37 starts in the Wolverines' secondary. Hall attended Vista High School, playing football for head coach Chris Hauser, who helped raise Leon, along with Hall's uncle, after the future Wolverine's mother passed away during his prep days. He was a San Diego Tribune Scholar-Athlete Award winner while competing at cornerback, wide receiver and quarterback. He was named All-American by Prep Star and Super Prep, and rated as the nation's 14th-best cornerback by Tom Lemming. Rivals.com tabbed Hall the 10th-best cornerback in the prep ranks and graded him a four-star prospect. He was named to the roster of the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Hall also earned All-County and All-Conference first-team honors at wide receiver and cornerback as a senior, adding All-Conference second-team accolades his junior season. He collected 103 tackles (77 solos) and nine interceptions during his career, including 51 tackles and three interceptions as a senior. In his final season, he also had 11 pass deflections, blocked three kicks and made one fumble recovery.
On offense, Hall made 24 catches for 520 yards and three touchdowns his senior year. He also posted 26 tackles and four interceptions as a junior. He added three letters in track, competing in the 100- and 200-meters and participated in the high jump. He had career-bests of 10.9 in the 100-meters and 22.2 in 200-meters and was a member of the school's 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. Hall enrolled at Michigan in 2003, earning Freshman All-American and All-Big Ten Conference honors. He played in 13 games, sharing left cornerback duties with Jeremy Lesueur. He started three contests, producing 26 tackles (21 solos) with six pass deflections and three interceptions. As a sophomore, Hall started nine of the team's final 10 games at right cornerback. He came up with 48 tackles (39 solos) and two fumble recoveries. He intercepted a pair of passes and batted away 10 others, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention. He also had six punt returns for 104 yards (17.3 avg) and a touchdown. The Big Ten second-team selection registered 61 tackles (46 solos) while starting all 12 games at left cornerback in 2005. He ranked fourth on the team with 61 tackles (46 solos), including two sacks and three stops for losses. He set a school record with an 83-yard return for a touchdown of a fumble recovery and deflected four passes while coming up with four interceptions. He also averaged 10.2 yards on four punt returns. The consensus All-American selection posted 45 tackles (35 solos) with a sack and a fumble recovery in 2006. He led the team with 18 pass deflections and intercepted three other passes. He also recovered a fumble and returned a punt 11 yards. In 50 games at Michigan, Hall started 37 times. He recorded 180 tackles (141 solos) with three sacks for minus-17 yards and seven stops for losses of 22 yards. He recovered five fumbles for 82 yards in returns, including one touchdown and had one forced fumble. He deflected 43 passes and intercepted 12 others for 23 yards in returns (1.9 avg), adding 174 yards and a touchdown on 15 punt returns (11.6 avg). ANALYSIS: Positives: Has a solid frame with good chest thickness, broad shoulders, defined upper body with muscular arms, tight hips and waist, well-developed thighs and calves with room on his frame to carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk...Hard worker who plays until the whistle...Smart, instinctive defender with very good field vision and quick reactions, especially attacking the ball in flight (43 pass deflections, 12 interceptions in 50 games)...Has natural hands and very good ball skills, timing his leaps to get to the ball at its high point...Shows good flexibility coming out of his breaks and has the ability to slip a block and make the tackle in the backfield...Well-respected team leader who plays with aggression and never takes a play off...Has good plant-and-drive agility, attacking the ball at full speed and showing crispness when having to redirect...Explosive hitter who keeps his pads low and shows good arm extension to wrap and secure...Never gets lost in coverage and is quick to locate the ball in a crowd...Takes good angles to close on the play...Has the speed to stay tight on the receiver throughout the route and is very good at anticipating the route's progression...Very fluid turning on the ball and has the vision to track the ball in flight...Very fluid and quick in his backpedal, never taking false steps in transition...Will run stride-for-stride with the receiver, thanks to his hip snap...Shows the good hip sink, feet and balance in his pedal, along with the loose hips to turn and run without having to throttle down...Very efficient at reading the patterns as they develop and is quick to react to plays in front of him...Rare to see him caught out of position, as he shows no hesitation breaking on the ball...Has the range to make cross-field tackles and has the catch-up speed to recover when beaten...Excels at competing for jump balls, doing a nice job of adjusting his body to get to the pass at its high point...Has a high ceiling level in his leaps (27-inch vertical)...Has the natural hands to extend and catch away from his frame and also is very effective at fielding the ball as a punt returner...Has the long arms and reach to make finger-tip catches seem routine...Recognizes the run quickly and does a good job of working down hill to get off blocks, slip through the crowd, avoid linemen and get into position to shut down the cutback lanes...Sees the play develop quickly, doing a nice job of lowering his head to generate more force behind his hits...Steady wrap-up tackler who has a good concept for taking proper angles when closing...Reliable punt returner who is a deceptive runner with the second gear needed to elude...Excels at anticipating the quarterback's moves and it is rare to see him bite on play action or pump fakes...Is an effective tackler working in space and has the long arms to reach around the opponent in attempts to deflect or strip the receiver of the ball. Negatives: Has good timed speed, but lacks explosion coming out of his breaks and needs to mirror the receiver closer rather than allow a big cushion in order to prevent the receiver from getting behind him on deep routes...Hard tackler, but must use his hands better in attempts to jam and reroute at the line of scrimmage...Sometimes relies too much on his recovery skills and this lets receivers to make the underneath catches... Might be a better fit for free safety due to his range and preference for playing the ball rather than operating in man coverage...Physical hitter, but will sometimes take a side and swing his arms wildly, resulting in missed tackles. Compares To: RONDE BARBER-Tampa Bay...Hall is a sound field technician who might not be the biggest or fastest defender on the field, but like Barber he is good at getting into position to make the play. He is a solid zone coverage defender, but with his field vision and natural hands (along with a lack of blazing speed) he could be a better fit at free safety down the road. INJURY REPORT: No injuries reported. CAREER NOTES: Ranks fourth on the school's career record list with 12 interceptions, topped by Tom Curtis (25, 1967-69), Charles Woodson (18, 1995-97) and Wally Teninga (13, 1945-49)...His 43 pass deflection topped the previous Michigan all-time record of 41 by Todd Howard (1998-2001)...Hall's 18 pass break-ups in 2006 tied the school single-season record that was first set by Marlin Jackson in 2002...His four pass deflections against Illinois in 2004 are topped only by James Whitley (five against Penn State in 1999), Thom Darden (five against Purdue in 1969) and Jackson (six against Washington in 2002) on the school's single-game record chart...Hall's 83-yard touchdown on a fumble recovery against Northwestern in 2005 set a school record, shattering the previous mark of 33 yards by Tommy Hendricks against Ohio State in 1998...His five career fumble recoveries rank eighth in Wolverine annals. AGILITY TESTS Campus: 4.42 in the 40-yard dash...33-inch vertical jump...30 3/4-inch arm length...8 7/8-inch hands. Combine: 4.41 in the 40-yard dash...1.49 10-yard dash...2.54 20-yard dash...4.07 20-yard shuttle... 11.62 60-yard shuttle...6.5 three-cone drill...37.5-inch vertical jump...10'5" broad jump. PERSONAL: General Studies major, enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts...Born Leon Lastarza Hall on 12/09/84...Resides in Vista, California. HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Vista (Cal.) High School, playing football for head coach Chris Hauser, who helped raise Leon, along with Hall's uncle, after the future Wolverine's mother passed away during his prep days...San Diego Tribune Scholar-Athlete Award winner while competing at cornerback, wide receiver and quarterback...Named All-American by Prep Star and Super Prep, and rated as the nation's 14th-best cornerback by Tom Lemming... Rivals.com tabbed Hall the 10th-best cornerback in the prep ranks and graded him a four-star prospect...Named to the roster of the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl...Also earned All-County and All-Conference first-team honors at wide receiver and cornerback as a senior, adding All-Conference second-team accolades his junior season...Collected 103 tackles (77 solos) and nine interceptions during his career, including 51 tackles and three interceptions as a senior...In his final year, he also had 11 pass deflections, blocked three kicks and made one fumble recovery...On offense, Hall made 24 catches for 520 yards and three touchdowns his senior year...Had 26 tackles and four interceptions as a junior...Added three letters in track, competing in the 100- and 200-meters and participated in the high jump...Had career-bests of 10.9 in the 100-meters and 22.2 in 200-meters and was a member of the school's 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.
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