Jaren Hall Talks About The Potential Of Turning Pro

PROVO, Utah – Anyone who knows anything about BYU football knows quarterbacks have been the peak position for decades. There are numerous All-Americans, a Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Draft picks, and future Super Bowl winners like Steve Young and Jim McMahon.

Current BYU quarterback Jaren Hall is having a career year in Provo slinging the football en route to a 10-win season as his first year as a starter. The schedule was tough as the Cougars faced seven Power 5 teams and they went 6-1, a potential conferences champions in Utah State and Utah, and overall played against eight bowl teams.

This comes off the heels of BYU winning 11 games last year with Zach Wilson who went No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. So, there will be some extra eyes at what the Cougars were able to do at quarterback in the post-Wilson era. Hall has done a solid job and seeing that there is a tougher schedule and an equal record has to impress NFL personnel for Hall’s pro prospects.

Hall is a different type of quarterback than the Cougars and when looking at comparables to the NFL it is easy to look at some of the quarterbacks who played baseball at a high level, as did Hall, in Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray. Plus, there is Josh Allen who is a mobile quarterback and in the MVP race this year.

This is not to say Hall will eventually be as good as those players, at least at this point, but his skill set is similar in that he can make plays on the ground. This year, Hall rushed for 307 yards at five yards a carry and three scores and that includes missing out on two games due to injury. Hall’s rushing threat is a great compliment to his passing acumen with 30 touchdowns to just five interceptions.

Being A Pro Athlete Has Always Been Hall’s Dream

The NFL Draft quarterback class isn’t amazing this year but Hall joined Unrivaled as he does every week and is unsure about going pro.

“I haven’t given it much thought honestly, I’m just trying to finish out this season, and then after the bowl game I’ll talk to my wife, dad, and family,” Hall said. “Just evaluate the season and talk to my quarterback coach and see what things look like for me. It is kind of up in the air. I haven’t given it much thought, I’m gonna be real. It is so new for me and anybody would say ‘the higher you can get drafted the better.’ I haven’t looked at any draft boards and haven’t seen myself anywhere too high, and we will see what happens after this last game.”

#BYU quarterback Jaren Hall gives his thoughts about if he should turn pro after this season.#NFLDraft #BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/RhnJxokJg9

— Unrivaled w/Alex Kirry & Scott Mitchell (@KSLunrivaled) December 1, 2021

Hall has improved quite a bit since he focused only on being a quarterback and it has shown in leading the Cougars to one of their best seasons in a very long time. Being a pro athlete is a dream that Hall has had all his life and he seems to be fairly cautious about making the best choice for him and his family.

“I have thought about that every day since I have been a kid,” Hall said. “There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t thought about playing in the NFL, or the MLB when I was doing both. It would be a surreal feeling. Hopefully, it’s closer than far away but we will see what happens. I had a decent year but there are a lot of things to clean up and a lot of ways I need to mature and be a better quarterback to be worth something at the next level.”

There is a lot that can happen before he decides to go pro. Sometimes an amazing post season game can get him a lot of publicity and his draft stock could rise. BYU is not out of the running for a New Year’s Six bowl game, so if he has a huge game against a top-10 team that could seriously change the trajectory of his decision to declare for the NFL Draft or return for another season in Provo.

Tune into Unrivaled every Monday through Friday, 3-7 p .m. on 1280 The Zone and 97.5 FM or subscribe to the podcast. Also, download the all-new KSL Sports app on iOS or Android.

Follow @JeremyMauss