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Dante Hall

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For the basketball player, see Donta Hall.

Dante Hall
refer to caption
Hall in 2023
No. 20, 82
Position:Wide receiver
Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1978-09-20) September 20, 1978 (age 46)
Lufkin, Texas, U.S.
Height:5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:187 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school:Nimitz (Houston, Texas)
College:Texas A&M (1996–1999)
NFL draft:2000 / round: 5 / pick: 153
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:162
Receiving yards:1,747
Receiving touchdowns:9
Return yards:12,397
Return touchdowns:12
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is nicknamed "the Human Joystick" and "the X-Factor".[1] He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL draft. Hall played for the Chiefs for seven years before being traded to the St. Louis Rams in 2007.[2] Hall was ranked the 10th greatest return specialist in NFL history on NFL Network's NFL Top 10 Return Aces.

College career

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Hall played for Texas A&M University as a running back and return specialist.[3] His 4,707 all-purpose yards place him second in school history behind Darren Lewis.[4] He majored in Ag Leadership & Development.[citation needed]

On November 8, 1999, Texas A&M announced Hall's dismissal from the team for violations of the team's policy. Hall stated he thinks he was ousted due to parking violations.[5]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 7+3⁄4 in
(1.72 m) 		191 lb
(87 kg) 		29+1⁄2 in
(0.75 m) 		8+7⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.42 s 1.55 s 2.56 s 3.82 s 6.62 s 38.0 in
(0.97 m)		 10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)		 18 reps
All values from NFL Combine[6][7]

Kansas City Chiefs

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The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Hall in the fifth-round of the 2000 NFL Draft.[8] He made his NFL debut on September 24, 2000, as a kick/punt returner. In five games, he returned 17 kickoffs for 358 yards and six punts for 37 yards.[4][9]

He spent the spring of 2001 playing in NFL Europe for the Scottish Claymores as a wide receiver. He led the league with 26 kickoff returns for 635 yards and was second in punt returns with 15 for 177 yards and second in combined net yards with 1,286.[4]

In 2002, Hall had his first NFL touchdown off a 60-yard reception at the New York Jets on October 6, 2002.[10] Hall returned one kickoff and two punts for touchdowns. His two touchdowns off punt returns tied him for first in Chief franchise history. The 2002 NFL season earned Hall his first NFL Pro Bowl, being selected as a kick returner.[4] Hall became the second player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown in the same game.[citation needed]

In 2003, Hall returned a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown four games in a row, which is an NFL record.[10] The most memorable moment of the season came against the Denver Broncos in which he reversed direction twice to evade the entire special teams unit en route to a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown, his 7th in the 10-game stretch from the previous season, then went on to score 10 total touchdowns in 13 games.[11] In the playoffs that year against the Indianapolis Colts, Hall had another kickoff return for a touchdown, giving him five for the year, as well as a receiving touchdown. Hall was named to the 2004 Pro Bowl as a kick/punt returner for his second time.[4]

In 2004, Hall touched the ball eight times for 242 yards vs. the San Diego Chargers on November 28, 2004. His six kickoff returns for 233 yards with a 96-yard touchdown in the game set a career-high. On December 19, 2004, he returned the opening kickoff 97-yards for a touchdown. This touchdown made him the Chiefs' franchise leader in career kickoff return touchdowns and career special teams touchdowns. During the 2004 NFL season, Hall set single-season Chiefs' franchise records with 68 kickoff returns and career-high 1,718 kickoff return yards.[10]

In 2005, in a memorable game against the Denver Broncos, Hall appeared to be on his way to a kickoff return for a touchdown, but he surprisingly fumbled the ball without being touched by a defensive player. With a touchdown on a kickoff return against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 2, 2005, he tied four players, among them Ollie Matson and Gale Sayers, for the most career kickoff return touchdowns, with six. That record stood until Joshua Cribbs broke it in 2009. Hall's sixth return was also his 10th return touchdown, placing him third in that category behind Brian Mitchell (13) and Eric Metcalf (12).

In 2006, Hall had two kickoff returns for 86 yards and three punt returns for seven yards in Week 12 vs. the Denver Broncos on November 23, 2006. This game made him the sixth player to have 10,000 career kick return yards. Hall played his second postseason game at Indianapolis on January 6, 2007, in a rematch from the 2003 Divisional Playoffs.[10]

St. Louis Rams

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In 2007, Hall was traded along with a third-round draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for their third and fifth-round draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Hall tied Metcalf on September 30, 2007, against the Dallas Cowboys with his 12th return touchdown. On October 7, 2008, Hall injured his ankle vs. the Arizona Cardinals, missing four games. He further aggravated his ankle on October 25, 2008, vs. the Seattle Seahawks and was placed on injured reserve.[12]

After football

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In 2013, Hall worked as an assistant coach at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, California.[13] In 2016, he spent several months as a radio host for KILT-FM in Houston, Texas.[14]

NFL career statistics

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Receiving Stats[15]

Year Team GP Rec Yards Avg Lng TD FD Fum Lost
2002 KC 16 20 322 16.1 75 3 11 0 0
2003 KC 16 40 423 10.6 67 1 16 0 0
2004 KC 16 25 230 9.2 22 0 15 0 0
2005 KC 16 34 436 12.8 52 3 19 0 0
2006 KC 15 26 204 7.8 19 2 15 0 0
2007 STL 7 5 27 5.4 12 0 2 0 0
2008 STL 8 12 105 8.8 20 0 7 0 0
Career 94 162 1,747 10.8 75 9 85 0 0

Rushing Stats[15]

Year Team GP Att Yards Avg Lng TD FD Fum Lost
2001 KC 13 2 10 5.0 6 0 1 0 0
2002 KC 16 11 54 4.9 21 0 4 0 0
2003 KC 16 16 73 4.6 16 0 5 0 0
2004 KC 16 8 56 7.0 17 0 2 0 0
2005 KC 16 7 11 1.6 7 0 0 0 0
2006 KC 15 3 11 3.7 9 0 0 0 0
2007 STL 7 3 18 6.0 9 0 2 0 0
2008 STL 8 4 9 2.3 10 0 2 0 0
Career 107 54 242 4.5 21 0 16 0 0

Returning Stats[15]

Year Team GP PRet Yards Lng TD FC KRet Yards Lng TD FC
2000 KC 5 6 37 22 0 5 17 358 36 0 0
2001 KC 13 32 235 26 0 6 43 969 71 0 0
2002 KC 16 29 390 90 2 11 57 1,354 88 1 0
2003 KC 16 29 472 93 2 14 57 1,478 100 2 0
2004 KC 16 23 232 46 0 17 68 1,718 97 2 0
2005 KC 16 42 276 52 0 6 65 1,560 96 1 0
2006 KC 15 27 240 60 1 6 53 1,207 60 0 0
2007 STL 7 19 286 85 1 6 29 729 84 0 0
2008 STL 8 9 93 34 0 1 37 763 41 0 0
Career 112 216 2,261 93 6 72 426 10,136 100 6 0

Chiefs franchise records

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  • Career kick return yards (8,644)[16]
  • Career kick return touchdowns (6)[16]
  • Career punt return touchdowns (5)[16]
  • Career combined punt and kickoff return touchdowns (11)[16]
  • Career All-purpose yards (12,356)[16]
  • Kickoff return yards in a single season: 1,718 (2004)[16]
  • All-purpose yards in a single season: 2,446 (2003)[16]

Media

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Hall is the co-author of Dante Hall: X-Factor, a book that details his journey from Texas A&M running back to one of the best kick returners in the NFL. He is mentioned in Lil Wayne's song "Dipset (Reppin Time)" in the line "I'm like Dante Hall, I just throw up the X." Hall appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman on October 30, 2003.

Nicknames

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Hall has established many nicknames in his career, perhaps the best known being "X-factor", referring to how whenever he scored a touchdown he would cross his forearms to resemble an "X". Hall was also known as "The Human Joystick", referring to the agility he showed during returns.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Jenkins, Lee (February 1, 2007). "Bears' Hester Emerges From the Tall Grass". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  2. ^ "Rams deal fifth-round pick for Hall". ESPN. April 25, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
  3. ^ "Dante Hall". Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on August 5, 2002.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Dante' Hall #82". NFL Players. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
  5. ^ "Texas A&M's Dante Hall Dismissed". Associated Press. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  6. ^ "Dante Hall, Texas AM, RB, 2000 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "Dante Hall, Combine Results, RB - Texas A&M". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "2000 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "Chiefs' Hall comes back strong after miscue". Archived from the original on August 22, 2000.
  10. ^ a b c d "Dante Hall". St. Louis Rams profile. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
  11. ^ NFL (October 27, 2017), That Time Dante Hall Dazzled the NFL as the Human Joystick 🕹 | NFL Highlights, retrieved October 28, 2017
  12. ^ "Return specialist Hall latest Rams player to land on injured list". ESPN. December 6, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
  13. ^ return to coaching
  14. ^ what happened to
  15. ^ a b c "Dante Hall Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Kansas City Chiefs Franchise Encyclopedia". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
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