Martinez D. Hall (born July 18, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He was signed by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2008. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Early years

Hall attended

Choctawhatchee High School Choctawhatchee High School is a high school in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It is the only school in Okaloosa County to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It also offers the Advanced Placement Program and honors classes, AFJROT ...

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,922, up from 19,507 in 2010. It is the principal city of the Fort Walton Beach− Crestview− Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

. He was a three-time All-state selection in basketball. During his junior year, Hall caught 44 balls for 974 yards and 14 TDs. He recorded 26 catches for 733 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior. Hall was ranked #44 on the Orlando Sentinel Florida Top 100 List and #35 on the 2004 Rivals.com receiver rankings.

College career

Hall started his career as a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during the 2004 season for the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

Crimson Tide, under head coach

Mike Shula Mike Shula (born June 3, 1965) is an American football coach who is the senior offensive assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). A graduate of the University of Alabama, he was the school's head football coa ...

. In his freshman season, he caught 17 passes for 186 yards, including one touchdown. In the

2004 Music City Bowl The 2004 Music City Bowl was held on December 31, 2004, in Nashville, Tennessee at The Coliseum. The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, of the SEC, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, of the Big Ten. The game was ultimately won by Minnesota, ...

, he led the team with five receptions for 51 yards. In his sophomore season, Hall was the leading receiver for Alabama with 48 catches for 676 yards and five touchdowns. His 157 yards receiving against

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

was a career-high. Hall also achieved the distinction of being the only Alabama player to have consecutive games with ten or more catches, coming against

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and Utah State. During the 2006 season, Hall once again led the team with 62 receptions for 1,056 yards and five touchdowns, setting a new record for single season yardage. He also became the third all-time receiver with 127 receptions, and second with 1,918 yards in his career. Hall broke several school records during the 2007 season including most career catches, touchdowns, and receiving yards. In a game versus rival

, Hall had 13 receptions (a school record since broken by

DeVonta Smith DeVonta Smith ( ; born November 14, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he recorded over 1,800 yards with 23 touchdowns as a ...

) for 185 yards, including two touchdowns. He finished the regular season with 63 receptions, including 6 touchdowns, for 947 yards which once again led the team. In his final game for Alabama, Hall recorded a mere 4 catches for 58 yards, in the process breaking the school record for receptions in a season. Overall, Hall finished the year with 67 receptions for 1,005 yards. Hall became the first Alabama player to record five straight 100-yard receiving games. His 2,923 career receiving yards easily surpassed the previous school record of 2,070 yards by

Ozzie Newsome Ozzie Newsome Jr. (born March 16, 1956) is an American former professional football player and executive who is the executive vice president of player personnel of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Newsome was a tight e ...

Professional career

New York Giants

Though he entered the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

, Hall went undrafted. On April 28, 2008, Hall signed a contract with the

. He became the second Alabama player to sign with the Giants, after teammate Wallace Gilberry signed a day before. He was later waived on August 25, 2008.

Oakland Raiders

Hall was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

on December 17, 2008.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Hall was signed by the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

on February 23, 2010. After suffering a hamstring injury in training camp, he was released on June 4, 2010.

Spokane Shock

Hall was signed by the Shock on November 1, 2010. He was released on January 5, 2011.

Pittsburgh Power

Hall was signed by the Power on February 14, 2011. He was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list on February 23, 2011. He was placed on Injured Reserve on March 26. He was activated on May 4, 2011. Hall was placed back on Injured Reserve on June 2, 2011. He was again activated on June 28, 2011. Hall was placed back on Injured Reserve on July 12, 2011. Hall played 4 games for the Power during the 2011 season, finishing with 20 receptions for 176 yards and 5 touchdowns.

References

External links

D. J. Hall bio
at RollTide.com
D. J. Hall bio
at Raiders.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, D. J. 1986 births Living people American football wide receivers Alabama Crimson Tide football players New York Giants players Oakland Raiders players Pittsburgh Power players Choctawhatchee High School alumni People from Fort Walton Beach, Florida Players of American football from Florida Jacksonville Sharks players