Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978 in Lufkin, Texas) is currently a free agent American football kick returner, punt returner, and wide receiver in the National Football League. Hall, often referred to as "X-Man," "The X-factor," "The Human Torch" and "The Human Joystick."^[1] He was a fifth round draft pick out of Texas A&M University by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2000 NFL Draft. Hall played for the Chiefs for six years before being traded to the St. Louis Rams on April 25, 2007 for the Rams' third and fifth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.^[2]

[edit] College career

Hall played for Texas A&M University as a running back and return specialist.^[3] His 4,707 all-purpose yards place him second in school history behind Darren Lewis.^[4] He majored in Sociology.

[edit] Professional career

The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Dante Hall in the fifth-round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut on September 24, 2000 as a kick/punt returner. In five games he returned 17 kickoffs for 358 yards and six punts for 37 yards.^[5][4]

He spent the spring of 2001 playing in NFL Europe for the Scottish Claymores as a wide receiver. He led the league with 26 kickoff returns for 635 yards and was second in punt returns with 15 for 177 yards and second in combined net yards with 1,286.^[4]

In 2002, Dante had his first NFL touchdown off a 60-yard reception at the New York Jets on October 6, 2002.^[6] Hall returned 1 kickoff and 2 punts for touchdowns. His two touchdowns off punt returns tied him for first in Chief franchise history. The 2002 NFL season earned Dante his first NFL Pro Bowl, being selected as a kick returner.^[4] Dante Hall became the second player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown in the same game.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Hall returned a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown four games in a row, which is an NFL record.^[6] The most memorable moment of the season came against the Denver Broncos in which he reversed direction 2 times to evade the entire special teams unit en route to a 93 yard punt return for a touchdown. In the playoffs that year against the Indianapolis Colts, Hall had another kickoff return for a touchdown, giving him 5 for the year, as well as a receiving touchdown. Hall was named to the 2004 Pro Bowl as a kick/punt returner for his second time.^[4]

In 2004, Hall touched the ball eight times for 242 yards vs. the San Diego Chargers on November 28, 2004. His six kickoff returns for 233 yards with a 96-yard touchdown in the game set a career-high. On December 19, 2004, he returned the opening kickoff 97-yards for a touchdown. This touchdown made him the Chiefs' franchise leader in career kickoff return touchdowns and career special teams touchdowns. During the 2004 NFL season, Hall set single-season Chiefs' franchise records with 68 kickoff returns and career-high 1,718 kickoff return yards.^[6]

In 2005, in a memorable game against the Denver Broncos, Hall appeared to be on his way to a kickoff return for a touchdown, but he surprisingly fumbled the ball without being touched by a defensive player. With a touchdown on a kickoff return against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 2, 2005, he tied four players, among them Ollie Matson and Gale Sayers, for the most career kickoff return touchdowns, with six. This was also his 10th return Touchdown, placing him third in that category behind Brian Mitchell (13) and Eric Metcalf (12).

In 2006, Hall had two kickoffs for 86 yards and three punts for seven yards in Week 12 vs. the Denver Broncos on November 23, 2006. This game made him the sixth player to have 10,000 career kick return yards. Hall played his second postseason game at Indianapolis on January 6, 2007, in a rematch from the 2003 Divisional Playoffs.^[6]

In 2007, Hall was traded along with a third-round draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for their third and fifth-round draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. During this time his forty yard dash was recorded as a 4.21.^{[citation needed]} Hall tied Metcalf on September 30, 2007 against the Dallas Cowboys with his 12th return touchdown. On October 7, 2008, Hall injured his ankle vs. the Arizona Cardinals, missing four games. He further aggravated his ankle on October 25, 2008, vs. the Seattle Seahawks and was placed on injured reserve.^[7] He was not resigned to a contract at the end of the year.

[edit] Media

Dante Hall is the co-author of Dante Hall: X-Factor, a book that details his journey from Texas A&M running back to one of the best kick returners in the NFL. He is mentioned in Jim Jones's song "Dipset (Reppin Time)" in the line "I'm like Dante Hall, I just throw up the X."

[edit] Nicknames

Dante Hall has established many nicknames in his career, perhaps the most well know being "The X-factor", referring to how whenever he scored a touchdown he would cross his forearms to resemble an x. Hall's other nicknames include "The Human Joy Stick", referring to the agility he showed during returns, and "The Human Torch", referring to his speed.

In a play on his nickname "The Human Joystick" The Kansas City Star stated in an article "'The Human Joystick' is as outdated as Atari", referring to his less-than-stellar 2006 season, his last with the Kansas City Chiefs.^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com • Yahoo! Sports

• Rams Player Bio