Senior’s talent, toughness drawing college recruiters
By: Justin Feil
Next year, Brett Hall hopes to be a quarterback at a big-time college football program.
For now, he’s a big-time quarterback hoping to turn around The Hun School program. The Raiders are 0-2 early in the season with losses to The Hill School in their opener and Mercersburg Academy last weekend. They travel to Pennsylvania for their third straight road game, a 1:30 p.m. kickoff with Germantown Academy.
"I expect pretty much the same type of team as Mercersburg," Hall said. "We’re going to play the same type of game. They’re not that big and they blitz a lot. We’ll try to throw to their weaknesses."
Against Mercersburg, the senior quarterback found plenty of open space for his receivers as he completed 18 of 48 passes for 447 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score in Hun’s 42-41 loss. In the 18-15 loss to Hill, Hall threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns. In 80 pass attempts this season, he has just one interception.
"He’s the most complete high school quarterback that I’ve ever coached with or against," said Hun third-year head coach Dave Dudeck. "He can throw it hard. He can throw it with touch. He’s big and strong and he has a good head on his shoulders. He’s got good quarterback sense."
Hall came to Hun after finishing the fall season at Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut with nearly 2,000 yards passing in just over six games. His size, strength, athleticism and statistics like those have made him a target for college recruiters everywhere.
"I’m trying to set up my official visits," said the 6-foot-4, 220 pounder, who must cut his list of potential schools from Wisconsin, Virginia, Northwestern, Florida, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Temple and Rutgers to five that he can officially visit. "I set one up with Temple, but I’m still thinking about the others."
Hall grew up in Virginia, but his family has lived in Lake Forest, Ill., a Chicago suburb for the past six years. He came to Hun in the winter, and started at shortstop for the Raider baseball team, where he could also see interest from colleges or professional teams. He is ranked among the top 17 national high school baseball/football prospects on TeamOneBaseball.com.
"He’s a real humble kid," Dudeck said. "He doesn’t brag or anything like that. He’s not really loud and boisterous about his own ability, but around his teammates he’s a good leader and I think he has the respect of his teammates."
Hall brings something that plenty of his teammates have heard quarterbacks talk about toughness but he can prove it. Aside from football and baseball, Hall spends his time boxing.
"I used to play three sports, with basketball in the winter," he said. "Once I went to high school, my dad and I thought I should focus on two sports. In the winters, I wasn’t doing anything, and I started boxing three years ago. I started out doing it for fun.
"Then my (boxing) coach wanted me to enter a tournament. He thought I had a good chance. I won that, and I loved it so I’ve kept doing it. For a while, I was pretty much concentrating on boxing every day. It helps me with competing and toughness and my footwork."
It wouldn’t seem like the ideal thing for a quarterback, who relies so much on his hands, to risk injuring them, but Hall said college coaches have reacted positively to his hobby.
"Most of the coaches that find out about it are impressed," he said. "They think it shows toughness. As far as hurting my hands, I don’t box a month before the season to make sure I don’t. And probably once I go to college, I won’t do it. But I did it this summer."
Hall also spent a month at Hun this summer working with his receivers in the 7-on-7 summer league. It gave him a jump on getting to know their speed and ability and helped him develop as a leader for the Raiders.
"It helped because I hadn’t thrown with the receivers before," he said, "and also I got closer with the guys as the season got closer. They’ve responded well to me. They didn’t know how good I was. I tried to get them in the weight room, and I’m a year older than even the seniors, so I think they respect me. They knew I played good football, but didn’t know what I could do."
It hasn’t taken long for Hall to impress them on the field. He’s already well on his way to another 2,000 yard season as he looks to better Hun’s 5-4 record from a year ago.
"I really like it here," the 18-year-old said. "Coach Dudeck is doing so much to help me. Last year the program was on the rise, and I liked that. We don’t have everyone we wanted, but I like being the underdog. We’re going to be all right. We’re doing well with what we have right now."
What the Raiders have is a strong-armed quarterback who does’t mind the new emphasis on the passing game. While last year Hun had now-Rutgers freshman Ishmael Medley to hand the ball to, the Raiders are looking to put the ball in the air more this season.
"That was one of the things that interested me about the school," Hall said. "Coach Dudeck said we’d throw the ball about 25 to 30 times a game. I didn’t realize it would be like last game (48 attempts), but that’s what they were giving us. We were throwing the ball downfield a lot. Usually I consider myself more accurate."
Accurate in the pocket or on the run, Hall’s attempts are sure to stay high, though Emery Mueller has developed into a reliable running back. Mueller had 138 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns against Mercersburg. The balance is sure to help as Hall strives to reach the goals he set for himself and the team.
"I wanted to continue to improve this year," he said. "I went to a couple of camps this summer. It’s good to play on a team against teams that are bigger than us. I’m reading defenses that are faster than us. I want to lead the team as best I can and turn the program around.
"I hope I can keep it up," he added of his output. "I know I’ll be throwing the ball a lot. I have to. If I don’t, we aren’t going to put up as many points. If I don’t play a good game, it’s going to hurt everyone else."
Hall hasn’t hurt anything at Hun, not that anyone is looking to pick a fight with the part-time boxer. The tough new quarterback has given a big lift to the Hun team, and he hopes do the same for some college next year. Dudeck has no doubts he’ll come through.
"He’s a big-time player," he said. "I’m happy with him because he has taken a real leadership role on the team. He’s surrounded by a lot of young guys and he’s pushing them to get better. With a young team like we have, he really helps."

