Road to the Pros: Derick Hall pushes self closer to improbable NFL dream
Derick Hall didn’t play golf very often until he got to Auburn and found some of his teammates hitting the links regularly. Now, the former All-SEC edge rusher turns to the course to help him work on a key attribute — patience.
Even over the last few months, when Hall has been training for the NFL Draft at EXOS Performance Institute in Gulf Breeze, Fla., he has found time to unwind at the driving range just down the road in Pensacola. Of late, he has been joined by his grandfather, Bertrand Foxworth, who made the trip from Gulfport, Miss., to the Florida panhandle to spend time with Hall during his pre-draft process.
Read more on Derick Hall: Road to the Pros Episode 2: Derick Hall’s Auburn career underscored by resolve amid uncertainty
NFL Draft profile: Breaking down Derick Hall’s “rugged” style off the edge
“It’s been amazing having him here,” Hall said. “It gets lonely when you’re here training, and coming home, training twice a day and then coming back, no one’s here. You know, that gets lonely.”
Hall has cherished the time with Foxworth, who is retired and eager to spend more time watching his grandson’s journey. The two have enjoyed little moments here and there—from Foxworth cooking breakfast for them every morning, to playing golf, to grabbing ice cream after a hard day of workouts. The moments aren’t lost on Hall, but his focus has been on the task at hand, the reason he has spent most of his time in Gulf Breeze since his college career ended: training for the NFL Draft and doing what he can to improve his stock.
Hall’s preparation for the NFL Draft is the subject of Episode 3 of AL.com’s Emmy-winning “Road to the Pros” documentary series about the former Auburn star’s journey. The third installment of the four-part series takes a closer look at Hall’s time at EXOS, his showing at the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis and at Auburn’s pro day in March as this week’s NFL Draft quickly approaches.
Hall didn’t initially plan to train in Florida; he was originally going out to Arizona, but former Auburn teammate Eku Leota convinced him to join him in Gulf Breeze at the highly regarded performance institute there. EXOS Gulf Breeze has hosted its share of Auburn player over the years, and this year Hall and Leota joined a crop of NFL prospects that include the likes of Alabama defensive lineman DJ Dale and Tennessee edge rusher Byron Young.
Hall and Young became particularly close during their training, the two SEC standouts pushing each other each day on the field and in the weight room.
“They’re like the same player,” EXOS senior director of performance Anthony Hobgood said. “They just get next to each other and compete, compete, compete with each other every day. If you want to get better, that’s what you have to do. Some athletes think that they want to go train one-on-one with a coach somewhere, and you really don’t want to do that. You want to surround yourself with people who are going to push you and make you better.”
Hall believes he has gotten that at EXOS, which relies on data-driven analysis to tailor custom training regimens for each of the athletes on its campus. Since Hall arrived at EXOS, he has seen his body composition change while his form and technique are “night and day” from his senior season at Auburn.
Hall got to show that at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where he posted a 33.5-inch vertical and ran a 4.55 in the 40, and again at Auburn’s pro day, where he went through defensive line and linebacker drills for the NFL personnel in attendance. Now, all that’s left is the NFL Draft — and the wait to hear his name called and his lifelong dream finally realized.
“Being told that I’m not going to be able to do anything but be taken care of my whole life, and now to be sitting here talking to you, about to get ready to be drafted — that’s definitely defeating the odds,” Hall said. “That’s definitely just a blessing.”
If you missed Episodes 1 & 2, you can find them here along with past seasons of “Road to the Pros” featuring some of your favorite Auburn Tigers including Roger McCreary, Marlon Davidson, and Kerryon Johnson:
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.