What ever happened to Vince Hall?
The legend of number nine still haunts quarterbacks and running backs alike. His hard-hitting and quick reflexes combined with those of former Hokie star Xavier Adibi - currently with the Houston Texans - will not soon be forgotten.
But after missing four games his senior season after breaking his left wrist against Clemson and injuring his knee during a beach outing right before the Orange Bowl against the University of Kansas, Vince Hall was not drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft.
The All-ACC linebacker landed in St. Louis as an undrafted free agent in 2008 only to tear his hamstring and be cut the following September.
"When I first came in, I was a free agent with St. Louis. When I was with there, I tore my hamstring before the preseason started and they put me on injured reserve, but when I got healthy they cut me," Hall said. "I was at home until about week 11 doing my workouts, then I got signed on the practice squad for the Buffalo Bills and they signed me back at the end of the season."
On Jan. 15 2009, the Buffalo Bills signed Hall to their practice squad with a future free agent contract. This meant that he was automatically a part of the team when the NFL contract cycle for 2009 started in March.
Hall, a Chesapeake, Va. native, started turning heads in high school.
"My sophomore year we [Oakton] played them [Western Branch] on our way to states and he was Gatorade Player of the Year, the coaches were all talking about him," said former teammate Cody Grimm. "We actually ended up beating them, and I remember he took his helmet off after the game and he had this like full beard and I was like, 'Now that's a man'. I'm still working on my 'stache and this guy has a full beard."
Little did Grimm know that the two would soon be teammates at Virginia Tech.
"I actually played middle linebacker for a little bit, which isn't what he played," Grimm said. "But just watching him on film, you know he's a really good player, a great guy, good teammate, outgoing and stuff. Watching him on film and stuff, you can learn so much. How he plays, he'd see a lineman pull and not even look at a running back and run 20 yards to get that running back for a loss. That's just the kind of football player he is. He's not the fastest, or the quickest, or strongest or anything, but he can read stuff really fast and just puts himself in good situations to make plays."
Tech Football defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Bud Foster had nothing but good things to say about Hall.
"Vince was one of the best football players I ever had the opportunity to coach. He had a great football IQ and he had the best vision of guys that I'd coached in a long time," Foster said. "He's a very instinctive football player; he understood the game and knew his positions so well that he would just play; overall just a really complete football player. One of the best linebackers in the 23 years that I've been here, if not the best linebacker play in and play out that I've ever coached."
As one of Hall's mentors through his development as both a person and a player, Foster sees good things for Vince in the future, both in football and in life.
"He was a four-year starter and really was a big-time football player. I'm disappointed for him that he got hurt toward the end of his [college] career, because there's going to be guys that are bigger size-wise, but I don't know if there are going to be guys from a football standpoint that are better," Foster said. "He just needs to get healthy. He's in camp now and hopefully they'll see up there what we've all seen the last four years that he is capable of doing."
Since graduation, Hall still visits the Blacksburg area regularly. Hall comes down to visit his daughter, who lives in Christiansburg with her mother, and to visit teammates and talk to former coaches.
"Whenever he comes down, he pops in and talks to me," Foster. "I've got his number, but it's time for him to kind of move on to the next level. He doesn't need me looking over his shoulder or anything."
Now healthy again, Hall is looking to make a name for himself and prove to his new franchise that he can play at the next level.
"I'm ready to get it going," Hall said. "Spring practice, it's going alright. It's just getting all of their terminology down, making sure I got my two positions locked down. They've got me at outside linebacker and inside linebacker. I do both now."
In terms of the future, Hall feels like he may have found a home in Buffalo.
"I could see myself here for awhile," said Hall. "People at the Bills are really great and the coaches talk to me and everything. In St. Louis, they didn't make me feel that much love for the staff, but here we keep up with our conversations and the players are really cool. I wouldn't mind living up here, you know. Ain't that much to do up here but work!"
Perhaps Buffalo feels like home because of its weather.
"I think it's worse than Blacksburg, the weather I mean," Hall said. "Blacksburg, you could have a cold day that turns out to be warm, but here when you have a cold day you know it's going to be cold. It still reminds me of Tech, though."
Foster has one hope for Hall.
"The NFL is such a business, and a player's days in it are not that long. If he can get the opportunity to get up there and play a few years and be productive and he can stay healthy and he can have a great experience - that's what I'm hoping for. If he gets in one of those situations where he can play for a long time, great. He's a good enough football player to...I just hope that they give him a shot and if they do, I know he'll take advantage of it and make the best of it. I'm proud of him, though, regardless. He's a great person who will be successful in whatever he wants to do. If he's motivated about it, he can be whatever he wants to be."
With so many accomplishments behind him and so much potential in the foreground, Grimm agrees, "He's such a great player, there's no way he won't make it [in the NFL]. He won't let that happen."