Hall Finally Getting A Shot

[Guest HowieP1]

Hall Finally Getting A Shot

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Oct 2, 2004

TAMPA - Bob Larson laughed when he picked up the telephone. He knew it was only a matter of time before the calls started coming in.

``So I guess everyone is getting a chance to see what we saw out here,'' said Larson, coach at Garden City (Kan.) Community College.

Larson was referring to South Florida junior running back Andre Hall. At Garden City last year, Hall was a junior college All-American.

Hall's 1,488 yards rushing last year were more than what a couple of other decent backs ran for at Garden City - West Virginia's Kay-Jay Harris, of Tampa, and Corey Dillon of the New England Patriots.

``He has uncanny balance and acceleration through the hole,'' Larson said. ``He gets something out of nothing. He's an amazing young man.''

Hall gets his second start tonight when USF (2-1, 1-0 Conference USA) hosts Southern Miss (2-0, 1-0).

Last week at TCU, Hall rushed for 119 yards and scored four TDs. He also had 228 all-purpose yards and ranks 11th in the nation, averaging 163.3 yards per game.

``He runs hard, doesn't he?'' USF senior offensive tackle Derrick Sarosi said. ``I love the way he runs. He runs hard. When you think he's tackled, he springs up and makes the other person miss.''

Against TCU, Hall rarely was stopped by the first hit. Sometimes it took three or four hits.

``That's just my style,'' Hall said. ``I never go down easy. I fight to the death.''

USF coach Jim Leavitt said the strategy against TCU was to get Hall the ball. ``We knew we were going to get to Andre eventually,'' Leavitt said.

USF wasn't as certain, though, it would end up with the Dixie Hollins graduate.

Academic problems limited Hall to playing only one season at Dixie Hollins. Clemson was interested, but wanted him to attend Georgia Military College. Hall spent a season at GMC and then offensive coordinator Jeff Tatum suggested Garden City.

``He told me it was a good place for my running style,'' Hall said. ``That's all he really had to say.''

After Hall eclipsed the Garden City numbers of Harris and Dillon, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Texas A&M and USF recruited him.

Hall turned down the Big 12 run- oriented schools for a chance to play near home, specifically by his father Captain Hall. He also liked playing in a passing offense.

``All my life I ran in a running offense,'' Hall said. ``With the passing thing over here, I feel I can make some big runs with the defense spread out.''

USF running backs coach Carl Franks has been pleased with Hall's maturity.

``He makes people miss,'' Franks said. ``He has great balance. He's so much fun to coach. He came in ready to learn. He wanted to know how he could help the team. He's willing to listen and learn.''

Now everyone is learning what Larson learned last year.

``You know something special is going to happen when he gets the ball,'' Larson said.

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