Kristi Malzahn had a nickname for Derick Hall from the moment he stepped foot on Auburn’s campus.

Malzahn, the wife of former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, would refer to Hall as “Baby D.” He was the youngest player on Auburn’s roster during his first full year with the program — from December 2018 through the end of his freshman campaign in 2019. When he was just a 6-foot-3, 227-pound freshman, though, “Baby D” quickly proved himself as a grown man.

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Early in his first year at Auburn, Hall was paired up in practice against Derrick Brown — one of the top defensive linemen in the country in 2019 — for a board drill, a head-to-head blocking drill in which a wide base, low center of gravity and footwork are key to winning the rep. Hall wound up on his back for most of the reps against the 6-foot-5, 318-pound Brown, but he refused to stay down.

“At that stage, Derrick Brown won the majority of those battles, but Derick Hall kept fighting,” then-Auburn assistant Marcus Woodson said. “We as a staff, we kind of looked at each other after practice and said, ‘Fellas, we got something in him,’ because he kept getting back up. He’s the type of young man that if he falls down seven (times), he’s going to get up eight.”

It was an early sign of what was to come from Hall during his four-year Auburn career, which is highlighted in Episode 2 of AL.com’s Emmy-winning “Road to the Pros” documentary series. The second installment of the series takes a closer look at Hall’s journey on the Plains, from being the “baby” of the team as a freshman to becoming a two-time All-SEC edge rusher and team captain as a senior.

As evidenced by those early board drill reps against Brown, Hall’s career had its ups and downs. On the field, Hall was a productive four-year contributor and three-year starter for the Tigers, but his time on the Plains coincided with a turbulent stretch for the program.

As a freshman, he played in 11 games and posted 13 total tackles. He made his first career start against Ole Miss, the program from his home state that was the first major school to offer him a scholarship in high school. Hall’s freshman season was highlighted by Auburn’s thrilling Iron Bowl win against rival Alabama.

RELATED: Road to the Pros Episode 1: Derick Hall’s unlikely journey from premature birth to the pride of Gulfport, Mississippi

Those good times didn’t last, though. In March 2020, the pandemic hit, and players were sent home from campus as spring practices were canceled and the season appeared uncertain. In June, players were able to return to campus, but even that presented a challenge for Hall, who has had asthma since he was a child.

“It was super scary when Auburn did call and said the boys have to return back to school, because we were still at the height of the pandemic,” his mother, Stacy Gooden-Crandle, said. “…I was super duper scared for him to go back, but at the same token, he has a commitment (to the team).”

Just two days after returning to Auburn, Hall was one of three players who tested positive for COVID, but all three were fortunately asymptomatic.

In an unusual 2020 season, Hall’s potential turned into production. He was the Tigers’ starter at Buck, and he finished the year with 21 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Things were looking up for Hall, but then the day after Auburn’s win against Mississippi State in its regular-season finale, Gus Malzahn was fired. A cloud of uncertainty loomed over the program as it turned to the next chapter.

“My heart sank,” Hall said. “I was heated. I was mad…. That hurt me a lot. Everybody that really recruited me, that I had built that relationship with (was) gone, out the door. So, I’m basically starting all over again.”

Despite the coaching change, Hall didn’t want to hit the transfer portal. He stuck it out at Auburn and continued to flourish despite playing for two different head coaches, two interim coaches, three different defensive coordinators and three different position coaches during his time with the Tigers. He earned second-team All-SEC honors as a junior, when he led Auburn with nine sacks and finished tied for third in the SEC, only trailing All-Americans Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama and Sam Williams of Ole Miss.

Hall thought that 2021 campaign would be his last in an Auburn uniform. He’d told himself before the season that if he got eight sacks that year, he was going to declare for the NFL Draft. That plan changed at the behest of his mom and his uncle, the first two college graduates within his family.

“I knew if I left school, there was no way I was coming back,” Hall said. “I was so tired of college.”

Hall kept his promise to his mother and returned for his senior season, again earning All-SEC recognition while leading the team in sacks for a second consecutive year. He’s set to graduate in May, just one week after the upcoming NFL Draft, when he’s expected to be the first Auburn player off the board.

In case you missed Episode 1:

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

Laura Goldman is a senior video producer for Alabama Media Group. Follow her on Twitter @GOODasGOLDman.