Why Duke’s Aaron Hall calls Carolina Panthers UDFA deal ‘the best of situations’
After spending five years with the Duke Blue Devils, Aaron Hall is ready to embark on his NFL dream not too far away from his hometown of Durham.
The defensive lineman will take part in the Carolina Panthers’ rookie minicamp in Charlotte on Friday and Saturday as an undrafted free-agent addition. Hall grew up rooting for the Panthers, and he told The Charlotte Observer’s ”Processing Blue” podcast that he had a lot of Carolina gear as a child.
Now, he will wear an official Panthers helmet and practice jersey throughout the summer on Mint Street.
Hall will join a defensive line depth chart headlined by Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Brown, nose tackle Bobby Brown and pass rusher Turk Wharton. The team also spent its second-round pick on Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter, who will learn the NFL game with Hall by his side as a fellow rookie.
During this week’s interview, Hall discussed the challenge of cracking the depth chart as an undrafted rookie and offered his perspective on having Hunter in the room with him.
He also weighed in on fellow undrafted free agent, quarterback Haynes King, whom he played against twice during their respective college careers in the ACC.
Below are some highlights from the “Processing Blue” interview with Hall (for the entire interview, download the latest episode on Spotify or Apple or watch it on YouTube):
(Note: Some answers have been shortened for brevity.)
Hall on his Panthers fandom growing up:
“Yeah, Panthers and Green Bay (Packers) fan. Yeah, definitely. So, Panthers, that was first little — you know how you get the mini helmets? I had one of those. Drawers were full of Panthers gear.
“Of course, who couldn’t love the Cam Newton era? Best quarterback — one of the best quarterbacks of all-time. But yeah, definitely, definitely grew up a Panthers fan.”
Hall dishes on decision to sign with Carolina:
“I think, for one, I had talk to (defensive line coach Todd Wash). He had called me right afterwards (following the draft).
“But I think it was the best of situations, right? Like you come here, you have chance to compete and ultimately end up on the 53-man roster, which is something everybody aspires to do — no matter kind of where you get drafted — first round or (undrafted) or rookie minicamp (invite), you’re all aspiring to do that.
“So, it was one of the better situations, and just, I mean, you’ve got the perks of being close to home.”
Hall’s outlook on competing for a defensive line roster spot:
“I think I see the opportunity to come in and play anywhere, right? I think one of my biggest perks is that I was versatile (in college). I played defensive tackle — 3-tech, nose guard — at Duke.
“I got to the East-West Shine Bowl game, and Coach (Jerry) Montgomery, from the Bengals, was able to throw me in at defensive end and play big end. And so just, for one, coming in and being versatile — realizing I could take snaps from where all those guys play and kind of freshen them up.
“I know some people don’t understand that part of the game is taking that pressure off of Derrick Brown, so that he’s fresh in the fourth quarter, clutch time. And so I think just being able to do everything down the line, it’s the greatest opportunity that I’m able to see coming in.”
Hall on working with different coaches during his Duke career:
“I think it’s something, like I mentioned before, that is a tremendous perk of mine. Being able to learn fast and on the fly — I mean, like I’ve mentioned, I’ve had four different defensive coordinators. I’ve had four different position coaches — three different head coaches. And so with these different schemes, with the different terminology, with the different ways these guys coach and maybe teach techniques, I think it’s something that’s done wonders for me.
“It was a reason I was able to go into the East-West game and be able to adapt so quickly and able to play different positions. And I think it’ll be one of the reasons that I’ll be versatile coming into the Carolina Panthers’ offseason — rookie minicamp and OTAs and training camp — and just being able to help those veteran front-runner guys who are already there.
“And so I think it was everything. It helped us learn different techniques and positions and allowed us to play them differently. So, I wouldn’t trade that experience (at Duke) for the world.”
Listen to the ‘Processing Blue’ podcast
On the latest of the “Processing Blue” podcast, The Charlotte Observer’s Panthers writers, Mike Kaye and Alex Zietlow, discuss the challenges Carolina’s undrafted rookies will face this offseason, veteran options still lingering on the free-agent market and much more, along with the in-depth interview with Hall.
Listen to the latest podcast episode embedded in this story, or download it on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also check out the show on YouTube.
