James Hall
The last couple of season’s James Hall RB from Las Cruces has been one of the better RB’s in the state. He burst on the scene as a sophomore and became a household name with a monster game against Artesia that year. Much was expected of him as a junior and he didn’t disappoint, rushing for over 1600 yards and scoring 26 total touchdowns. We had a chance to post his video a few weeks ago and have been asked to write up an evaluation on his abilities. We break this down into a few different areas, positives, negatives, overall prospect and bottom line. Here are our thoughts.
Positives
We always want to start out with the things that a player does well. When watching his tape our answer is almost everything. James has a great feel for the game of football, his ability to find cutback lanes and holes before they open is a skill that you can’t teach. So many times he will cut and begin to go in a different direction before his lineman execute their blocks. It’s really easy to see this talent on the plays that are viewed from behind the offensive line. James also shows that he can catch the football and he can definitely make people miss in the open field. He plays with good pad level and runs behind his pads instead of underneath them, meaning he lowers his shoulder when he needs to and isn’t total upright as a runner. I really feel that his best skill is his ability to hit the hole, he is really quick from 0 to 8 yards, and he can get to that second level in a hurry.
Negatives
There are two things that jump out at me the moment I turn on the film. 1st off is his size, at 5-8 165 he isn’t the biggest guy in the world. I can already hear the argument that is coming from all of you, “well Darren Sproles is 5’7, so what does that matter?” Here’s why his size is an issue. To be honest the fact that he’s 5’8 isn’t the issue, in fact that’s really a none issue. The biggest issue is his weight, at 165 he will need to put on some weight at the next level. Reason why that’s an issue is because of his second issue, he isn’t a burner. His biggest concern is his speed and since speed is an issue and the weight is an issue they go hand in hand. In other words colleges are going to ask themselves, if speed is an issue at 165, it will be a bigger concern at 185.
Overall Prospect
As of right now he has an offer on the table from New Mexico State, he is also hearing from lots of schools including New Mexico. I think that’s about right for his skill set, mid major type school. He’s also been hearing from 1AA schools at this point in the process. The reason why he isn’t a BCS type recruit is really just his speed and weight issue. Watching his film if Hall was 5’8 190 and had the same tape it might be a different story.
Bottom Line
James Hall is a special, special high school football player. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the top ranked RB in the state at this point. Don’t be surprised if he rushes for more than 2000 yards this year and leads his team into state title consideration. From a college standpoint, look for more mid major type schools to get involved for his services.
Watch for more with James all season long on PrepNewMexico.com
Any player that sends us a highlight tape will have it posted on the site and have an evaluation done just like this one, about their overall abilities.
Have a video you want posted and a player you want evaluated? Email us: newmexicoinsider@yahoo.com