Jake Hall commits to UTEP
COSTA MESA -- Another standout OCC football player -- linebacker Jake Hall -- will be heading to the Lone Star State and will continue his athletic and academic careers at the University of Texas, El Paso.
"The search process was crazy ... a lot of patience went into it, but I'm a religious person, so I just kept telling myself to trust God's timing and it paid off," Hall said. "Not the school itself I chose because of the coaches ... I felt they were going to get the best out of me and not to mention that the level of competition they play has been a dream of mine to be a part of over since I was a kid."
After a stellar prep career at San Juan Hills HS, Hall came to OCC for the 2021 season and was a steady force in the OCC defense with 32 tackles (16 solo), seven tackles for loss and a pair of QB sacks. For the 2022 campaign, Hall was the mainstay in the Coast defense and led the team with 56 tackles (23 solo), tackles for loss (10.5) and sacks (5) to go along with two pass breakups and one interception.
"Jake had to overcome a pretty bumpy road while at OCC," head coach Bubba Gonzalez said. "His college career started during a worldwide pandemic and was uncertain what his future held. Despite all that, Jake never stopped working. He was determined to reach his goal of playing Division I football. Jake learned from all of his experiences and matured into a great, young man. Now he gets to live out his dream. He is ready for the next chapter in his life and I know he will do great things."
Hall had at least one tackle in every game played for the Pirates this past season, capped off with a career-best 12 tackles on Oct. 15 against Citrus College.
"OCC football has been a crazy ride for sure," Hall said. "I've had my ups and downs and the people who got me through my downs were the coaches. They're like family to me and I will always be grateful to them. Coach Bubba taught me that you can have a relationship with a coach outside of football and that's something I never had in my life. I consider Bubba like a father figure to me, along with (coaches Junior Tagaloa and Twin Fernandes). Those three coaches pushed me in so many ways to make me the person I am today and they're someone I can always call.
"I came from a historic team at San Juan Hills HS that won a CIF championship to winning six games in my OCC career, but I realized that through the losses, it's humbled me and made me appreciate the game a lot more."
Hall's solid 2022 season was recognized by those in the Metro League as he earned Second-Team, All-Metro League honors for the Pirates last year.
"OCC has been nothing but kind to me, from the professors, to the football coaches and training staff," Hall said. "I'm glad to have met all of them and most of them will be in my life forever and I can call them 'family' now."
