Five Things To Know About BYU QB Jaren Hall
Aug 26, 2021, 1:22 AM | Updated: 1:30 am
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 12: Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall (3) runs the ball during the college football game between the Brigham Young Cougars and South Florida Bulls on October 12, 2019 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – The successor to Zach Wilson at the BYU starting quarterback spot is Jaren Hall.
Jaren Hall on how it feels to be QB1.#BYU #BYUFootball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/ZUR6rKIOEj
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 25, 2021
Hall hasn’t played in a game for BYU since 2019 due to injuries. If you’re not familiar with him, let’s get you up to speed on the 6-foot-1, 205-pound signal-caller.
Grew up in a BYU family
Jaren Hall’s father is Kalin Hall. A former JUCO Player of the Year at Dixie State in 1991, Kalin Hall was a talented running back for BYU during the 1992 and 1993 seasons. While at Dixie State, the elder Hall struck a relationship with teammate Jack Damuni. The friendship with Damuni, who later went on to play at BYU and is now working in the recruiting department, brought awareness to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Kalin.
26 years ago I baptized my brother Kalin Hall into the church. Today when I see his son Kj #20 take the field all I can say is God is good. pic.twitter.com/AfQaYVqkH5
— Jack Damuni (@JackDamuni) December 16, 2016
Kalin converted to the Church then went on to play for BYU, teaming up with former Cougar legend Jamal Willis.
That experience converting to the Church and playing for BYU has left the Hall family a die-hard BYU family. Jaren Hall’s older brother, KJ, played running back at BYU from 2015-17. Hall’s younger brother, Kyson, is a BYU football signee who will join the program after completing his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hometown Hero
Hall grew up in Spanish Fork, Utah. His prep career took place at Maple Mountain High School. During his three years with the Golden Eagles, Hall passed for 5,109 yards, 52 TDs, while also rushing for 659 yards.
Jaren Hall 6'1" 195 QB A dual threat with 4.5 speed from Maple Mountain High. Accumulated close to 3000 total yards pic.twitter.com/ovOOkq8vRt
— Tom Lemming (@LemmingReport) May 17, 2015
He garnered interest from a handful of Power Five schools, but BYU and Utah were the only ones that reportedly offered the three-star prospect. Hall committed to Bronco Mendenhall’s staff as part of the 2016 recruiting class.
BYU gonna love this kid @j_tom24 Jaren son of Kalin Hall with incredible 60-yard TD run. #kslgamenight #BYUFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/CWjelAdG3w
— Dave Noriega (@davenoriega) August 29, 2015
When Mendenhall left for Virginia, Kalani Sitake and Ty Detmer re-recruited Hall, ultimately picking BYU over the Utes.
Hall earned QB MVP honors at the Las Vegas Rivals Camp Series in 2015.
Dual-sport athlete
After serving a mission in Sacramento, California, for the Church, Hall arrived at BYU in the spring of 2018. Along with competing in the football program, Hall was also an outfielder on the BYU baseball team. He played the sport growing up.
It wasn’t until this year, in 2021, that Hall put baseball on hold.
#BYU’s Jaren Hall is really good at football and he’s no slouch in baseball either. ⚾️ 🏈
Hall hit a grand slam in @BYUBaseball’s win over New Mexico on Friday night. 👏
🎥: @MountainWest #BYUBASEBALL #GoCougs https://t.co/60eIw6wpzd pic.twitter.com/vFuU3OCaBn
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 29, 2020
Hall hit a grand slam in 2020 against New Mexico before the season shut down due to COVID-19.
During Hall’s first season in 2018, he immediately rose the depth chart. He passed Joe Critchlow as a freshman at the time to become the third QB behind Tanner Mangum and fellow freshman Zach Wilson.
In 2019, Hall took most of the first-team snaps at QB during spring practices while Zach Wilson was out due to shoulder surgery. When healthy, Hall was consistently the primary backup to Wilson.
First Black starting QB at BYU
Jaren Hall made history in the BYU football program when he became the starting quarterback in 2019. When Hall started against USF that season in replace of the injured Zach Wilson, Hall was the first Black American to start at quarterback for the Cougars.
Hall started in two games during the 2019 season. Unfortunately, in both of those games, he had to exit early due to concussion protocol.
During his start against Utah State –his last game action at BYU– he passed for 214 yards and rushed for an additional 54 yards in only one half of play.
Proud husband and father
Hall married former Utah Valley soccer player Breanna McCarter in 2019. The couple recently became parents this past July with the birth of their daughter, Jayda Mae Hall.
View this post on Instagram
There was a video of Jaren embracing his daughter at the hospital that Bre posted on TikTok. The video has gone viral, amassing nearly 34 million views and 6 million likes—touching moment.
@brehall10♬ Turning Page – Sydney Rose
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
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