Jaren Hall Recalls Being Recruited By Bronco Mendenhall
Oct 29, 2021, 11:02 AM
BYU football starting QB Jaren Hall returned to action after two weeks away during a loss to Boise State. (Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
(Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – College football recruiting is a long game with athletes getting scholarship offers earlier and earlier every year.
When Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall comes to town this weekend there is at least one player he recruited when he was the head coach at BYU. That player is current Cougar starting quarterback Jaren Hall. BYU is a bit different with so many players serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that can spread out the time these coaches and athletes know each other during their playing careers.
Mendenhall left Provo in 2015 and Hall graduated from Maple Mountain and was recruited and committed to the former Cougar coach. However, Hall and Mendenhall never stepped on campus at the same time with Mendenhall heading to Virginia falling the 2015 season and Hall not getting on campus until 2016.
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Hall does recall when he received his scholarship offer from Mendenhall during a meeting in the coach’s office.
“I don’t remember a ton about Bronco from high school. When I was recruited by Bronco one of the first things he did when he was recruiting me was pulling up the Honor Code on his TV in his office,” Hall said. “We went through that together and it was like a mini-interview with your bishop. I got my offer after that meeting.”
The commitment to BYU had to be reaffirmed by new head coach Kalani Sitake and how he is all about the players and how he is different than Mendenhall.
“Kalani was a little different as I was already committed but he came in and reassured that I was going to keep my commitment,” Hall said. “Kalani is all about the players every bit he can and about the fanbase. In that way, they are a little different, but I never played under Bronco so I don’t know what he was like in the locker room but I heard stories from the older guys.”
Who’s ready to go on a safari with @BYUfootball QB Jaren Hall? 🎃 🍬 #TrunkOrTreat #BYU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/dgwSj2ECjT
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 28, 2021
Hall’s first offer was actually to Utah when Aaron Roderick was on that staff and he was open to going to a school other than BYU despite his brother and both parents being athletes at BYU. Even though he had deep family ties to the Cougar program he wanted to keep his commitment open and hear out any and all offers.
At BYU he was able to play baseball for his first few years but he switched fully from baseball to football after the 2020 baseball season was cut short due to COVID-19.
Now after seven years, Hall is the starting quarterback for the Cougars and will finally be on the same football field as Mendenhall but will be facing him instead of receiving the play calls.
