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BENGALS 2007 1ST ROUND PICK LEON HALL

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Leon Hall
Height: 5-11
Weight: 193
Position: Cornerback
College: Michigan


NFL Network video scouting report

Copyright NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange


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 PrepStar and SuperPrep, 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 the 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 average) 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 fingertip 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 … ard 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 Buccaneers … 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.


AGILITY TESTS
Campus: 4.42 in the 40-yard dash … 33-inch vertical jump … 30¾-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 … 37½-inch vertical jump … 10-foot-5 broad jump.


HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Vista (Calif.) 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 PrepStar and SuperPrep, 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 the 200-meters and was a member of the school's 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.


PERSONAL
General studies major, enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts … Born Leon Lastarza Hall on Dec. 9, 1984 … Resides in Vista, Calif.






[url="http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/hall_leon"]http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/hall_leon[/url]
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Guest oldschooler

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The time Hobson has on this article is before the Bengals made the pick . . .


[quote][size=5][b]Hall of a pick for Bengals [/b][/size]
By GEOFF HOBSON
April 28, 2007

3:25 p.m.

The stars turned out to be aligned for the Bengals with the 18th pick in the NFL Draft Saturday when they didn’t have to move for one of the field’s two elite cornerbacks in Michigan’s Leon Hall.

Like Johnathan Joseph last year, Hall figures to move into the Bengals starting lineup at some point during the upcoming season. A consensus All-American, Hall led the Wolverines with 18 pass deflections, intercepted three, and recovered a fumble. In 50 college games at Michigan, Hall had 12 picks, deflected 43 passes and recovered five fumbles, including one for touchdown. He’s not viewed as a punt returner, although he did have a touchdown out of 15 returns.

At the NFL scouting combine back in February, Hall had to answer questions about getting beat by wide receivers Ted Ginn of Ohio State and Dwayne Jarrett of USC late in the season.

“I definitely had those two bad reps. That one against Ted Ginn was a mental mistake on my part and then the one against Dwayne Jarrett was an alignment issue,” Hall said. “I earned from them, definitely, I went back and watched the film. Those are the type of plays you don't want to have.

“That's part of the game. Going to the next level, you're going to go against a lot of great receivers,” he said. “And one thing my coach told me is that you're going to go up against great players, they're going to make plays and you're going to make plays. You just want to make more than they do.”

Hall responded with fast 40-yard dash times at his workouts and analysts like Scouts Inc. think he’ll be fine.

“Despite his excellent 40-time, Hall lacks ideal turn-and-run skills, which was exposed in his 2006 matchup versus Ohio State WR Ted Ginn Jr. However, Hall is a physical cover corner with a very good combination of size, athleticism, instincts and ball skills,” is how Scouts rates him. “Hall is big and strong enough to handle bigger NFL receivers one-on-one and he also does a fine job supporting the run.”

The Bengals, desperate for defense, got a lift when the Dolphins stunned the world by taking Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn at No. 9 and then Buffalo offered a mini surprise when they selected Cal running back Marshawn Lynch at No. 12 and left the two top-rated cornerbacks on the board in Michigan’s Leon Hall and pissburgh’s Darrelle Revis.

Everyone knew the Bengals came into this weekend’s NFL Draft looking for defense. The problem is that except for a couple of teams early in the draft so was everyone else as evidenced by the slippage of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.

What they needed before they picked at No. 18 was an offensive player or two sneak into the top 17 and drive some of those defenders toward them. The Jets traded with the Panthers at No. 14 to start the defensive back run in selecting pissburgh cornerback Darrelle Revis.

The stealers guaranteed the Bengals would get one of the top defensive backs when they took Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons at No. 15. Then Green Bay left it to Hall or Florida safety Reggie Nelson when they shocked everyone by taking Tennessee tackle Justin Harrell at No. 16 even though he had been projected for late in the first round.

When the Jaguars traded down with Denver for another low firs-round projection, Hall was a done deal.[/quote]




[url="http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6013"]http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6013[/url]
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Hall is a Bengal now . . . he has my full support.

I hope Michael Griffin falls to us in the 2nd round now though . . . *prays*
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Draftman NFL Veteran

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Leon Hall CB Michigan



STRENGTHS

Leon Hall plays his position with the instincts and brains of a CB that’s played in the NFL for three years. He has good size and speed. He is strong and is a solid tackler. Leon understands his position in a team sense and structure better than most players coming out in the draft. He is an excellent zone CB and a very good one-on- one cover CB. He has the strength to play bigger than his size and he understands how to read a receiver when covering him. Leon is a very smart CB who’s overall game translates very well to the next level. He reminds me a lot of Troy Brown (WR/CB New England Patriots.)



NEEDS TO IMPROVE

He lacks the quickness in his game to be an elite cover corner, but overcomes this deficiency with brains and instincts. At the next level, he will be susceptible to the double move because he lacks the quickness to recover. However, if he gets beat, he has the speed to make the tackle from behind.



TALENT BOARD ROUND: 1

Leon will walk on for the team that drafts him and start right away. He will make few mistakes and will not be over-matched. He is ready to be thrown into the mix in the defensive backfield and will become a core player and leader for his team. On film, this kid makes few mistakes and when he comes up against a challenging WR, he is up to the task. He also has the ability to forget when he makes mistakes. This is a big issue for a young CB to learn. Most CB’s that are drafted early have a problem of too much machismo effecting how they play the game. Leon doesn’t show me that his ego is out of control. I call him Leon (Ready-Mix) Hall because the minute you draft him, he is ready to be thrown into the DB mix.



Drew Boylhart

NFL comparison: TY LAW
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[quote name='oldschooler' post='477699' date='Apr 28 2007, 02:45 PM']Hall is a Bengal now . . . he has my full support.

[b]I hope Michael Griffin falls to us in the 2nd round now though . . . *prays*[/b][/quote]




NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Guest IndianaBengal

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Hey Fellas, & B. Beotch. I am so happy that the Bengals pick is over. My mower deck is in repair by me right now. I'm glad we went defense. I wouldn't have minded Branch, but [size=6][color="#0000FF"]no more leg problems from a Michigan player, PLEASE!!!!!![/color][/size]

[b][color="#FF0000"]Can someone give me an AMEN??????[/color][/b]
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[quote name='oldschooler' post='477699' date='Apr 28 2007, 03:45 PM']Hall is a Bengal now . . . he has my full support.

[b]I hope Michael Griffin falls to us in the 2nd round now though[/b] . . . *prays*[/quote]
[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] thats really funny now



id like to have Eric Weddle in round 2


or maybe reggie nelson :ninja:

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Bengals Press Conference on Leon Hall [url="http://bengals.com/media/index.asp?multimedia_id=1329"]http://bengals.com/media/index.asp?multimedia_id=1329[/url]
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I think it's a very good, safe pick. The guy started for 4 years (he split time early in his college career, but still) at Michigan. He's got good size, he's physical, and is a good kid besides. I've heard him interviewed... impressive.

And he's an excellent athlete. He ran 4.39/4.41 at the Combine, and his time in the short shuttle drill was 6.50. I follow the draft closely, and that was the fastest time I saw by ANYONE at any position, all year.

From what I've read, he's the most technically sound CB out there, and a guy like Coyle will get the best out of him. I'm excited for him, and for the Bengals. Maybe that'll light a fire under Deltha and Keiwan... but either way, I don't care. He'll be a fine player. And, he's never been hurt.

[quote name='A-Men-HouseofPain' post='477720' date='Apr 28 2007, 02:52 PM'][img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img] thats really funny now
id like to have Eric Weddle in round 2
or maybe reggie nelson :ninja:[/quote]

Give me Weddle. I'd be happy with Hall and Weddle for the entire draft, not just rounds 1 and 2.

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[quote name='oldschooler' post='477712' date='Apr 28 2007, 02:49 PM']NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/quote]
Had a growing feeling that Griffin would go before Nelson. Teams put a huge premium on tackling and special teams.
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TheBZ Hall Of Fame

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[quote name='oldschooler' post='477727' date='Apr 28 2007, 03:54 PM']Bengals Press Conference on Leon Hall [url="http://bengals.com/media/index.asp?multimedia_id=1329"]http://bengals.com/media/index.asp?multimedia_id=1329[/url][/quote]

I'm not hearing anything...Has it started? Is it over?

BZ
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[quote name='TheBZ' post='477738' date='Apr 28 2007, 02:59 PM']I'm not hearing anything...Has it started? Is it over?

BZ[/quote]



I didn`t listen to it. They will have it up again, and other info, conference call with Hall ect ... soon though . . .


[url="http://www.bengals.com/team/draft_central07.html"]http://www.bengals.com/team/draft_central07.html[/url]
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[size=4][b]TSN War Room [/b][/size]


[quote]18 (18) Bengals Leon Hall CB Michigan
This is a great pick for the Bengals. Hall is a great corner and -- perhaps more important for this organization -- a great kid. He has all the measurable skills to compete with all different types of receivers and shut down half the field.[/quote]
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