Bryce Hall Burning the Candle to Prep for Belk Bowl

By Jerry Ratcliffe

It was 6:30 on a Saturday night a few weeks ago when Virginia’s coaching staff was hosting a recruiting function at the McCue Center football offices. On their way to the gathering, they happened upon one lone Cavalier player in the building studying film.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, it was Bryce Hall.

Bronco Mendenhall said that he’s had only a handful of players during his coaching career that prepared as well as the junior cornerback from Harrisburg, Pa.

“There are some times in sports and in life when the public accolades warrant and reflect the preparation and the diligence, and this would be one,” Mendenhall said of Hall, who was named to several All-America teams this month. “His preparation is really what he ought to be All-American for. He’s played well. His preparation is exceptional.”

Hall has been named to the Walter Camp All-America (second team), the FWAA (second team), Athlon Sports (third team), College Football News All-America (honorable mention), and the Pro Football Focus team (honorable mention). The All-ACC first-teamer made a huge impact his third year for the Wahoos, who take on South Carolina in the Belk Bowl on Saturday.

Heading into the bowl, Hall is No. 1 in the nation in pass breakups (PBUs) with 20, and No. 2 nationally in passes defended with 22, along with two interceptions.

He and his fellow defensive backs will be under the gun in Charlotte against the pass-happy Gamecocks, a team that threw for more than 500 yards on No. 2 Clemson last month.

As terrific a season as Hall has enjoyed, he’s disappointed in one number: his interception totals.

“I kind of wish I had more interceptions when I look back at all the PBUs,” Hall said. “It’s an honor to be up there at the top of the category with some of the nation’s best. Coming into the season I had a vision about how I wanted to perform this year and having those goals in mind have helped me get there.”

His wish list was plentiful and impressive.

Hall wanted to be an All-American.

Check.

Wanted to be the best corner in the country.

Close.

Wanted to be an 80-percent tackler.

Check.

Wanted to create turnovers to help his team win.

Check, even though he didn’t get as many as hoped for.

“All the opportunities have been there for me,” Hall said. “I had a clear mission in mind and that has helped me attack those areas in practice and in games.”

He became so much of a lockdown corner for a long stretch during the season that opposing coordinators chose not to throw his way, or at least not often. It was somewhat surprising that Liberty and Virginia Tech had some success against him in those games.

“I do like the opportunity that provides me when people throw my way,” Hall said. “That makes me better. But it goes to show that no matter who I play, you always have to be ready because as soon as you fall asleep, that’s when the ball comes your way. That taught me a valuable lesson to always be ready.”

Hall knows that he’ll have to be alert wire-to-wire against the Gamecocks and quarterback Jake Bentley, who has passed for nearly 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns for the 7-5 South Carolina squad this season.

“He’s probably up there with some of the better quarterbacks we’ve faced from N.C. State (Ryan Finley) and Duke (Daniel Jones),” Hall said. “He’s an elite quarterback and I expect similar play from him.”

Virginia’s defense has faced several spread offenses this past season, although South Carolina has some unique concepts.

“This one is pretty unique as far as their route running and their route tree,” Hall said. “It’s unique in that aspect, but similar to other spreads we’ve faced in terms of up-tempo.”

Of course Hall would know all that because of his intense film study. As good as he has become at breaking down opponents on film, it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, his first year at UVA he felt like he just couldn’t get it.

That didn’t last long.

“It has been a journey to get where I’m at now,” Hall said. “Originally it took a lot of hours just looking at things over and over again. Things you just don’t understand.

“Over time, the more time I’ve spent at this, the more I’ve grown,” he said. “I think you have to look at your preparation and the way you study your opponent like an investigator trying to solve a murder case. That’s my mindset. Each week we talk about cracking the code.”

Film is one aspect of the preparation, but he has to carry that to the practice field and ultimately into the game.

Don’t get him wrong. Of course he goes out and chills with his teammates from time to time. Just don’t try to come between Hall and his preparation.

And, no, he doesn’t keep his stats in his head. He’s not really into all that.

“They told me about all those,” Hall said of UVA’s sports media relations team. “I just try not to let my man catch the ball.”

No wonder he opened a lot of eyes nationally when it came to selecting postseason teams.

“It’s a huge honor and a blessing to see the work we put in this year starting to pay off,” Hall said. “It’s an honor to be up there with the greats that have been named All-American.

“Honestly, I take some time to appreciate it and then try to move on because I believe the greatest hindrance to our forward success is past accomplishments,” the star corner said. “I don’t dwell on that stuff. I’m always trying to move forward.”

Spoken like a true All-American.

He doesn’t dwell on past blunders either, like last year’s Military Bowl experience where the Cavaliers couldn’t do anything right in a blowout loss to Navy.

“I learned from that bowl experience that the hungriest team wins,” Hall said. “That game showed us exactly where we were and what we needed to improve on to get where we want to go. That humbled us, exposed us at what we were weak at, and it propelled us into this year on how to focus and get better.”

And now, it is time to see if that hunger can overcome an SEC opponent in a setting only 90 miles from the Gamecocks’ campus and near its fan base.

Hall is a little bummed that South Carolina’s top receiver, Deebo Samuels, is skipping the game because of previous health issues.

“As a competitor, you want to go against the best, but I understand where he’s coming from,” Hall said. “I would love to go against him. That’s just who we are in this program. At the same time, I know they have other good receivers. I’m going to study and prepare so I’ll be ready for anything thrown my way.”

Inspector Hall is in the house, and it won’t take him long to crack the Gamecocks’ code.