Those Who Stayed: Leon Hall

Submitted by Kaminski16 on

Not totally sure of the policy here for self-promotion -- if this violates it then mods feel free to ax this -- but these got a positive reception in the past so I figured the board may enjoy it.

You may remember back before last season, I began a series of interviews of Michigan Football Alumni for the now-defunct White Hot Sports, including Marlin Jackson and Ryan Van Bergen. I'm happy to say they're back now at my new site, stadiummain.com.
 
Brian talked to Leon Hall (LINK) about his tough beginnings and recruitment out in California, his time at Michigan, Brady Hoke, the Harbaugh hire, and of course SATELLITE CAMPS!!! 
 
Enjoy, and if you want to read more follow us at @stadiummain. We have a lot more interviews coming -- feel free to suggest players you'd like to hear from. 
MGoBoard

JHendo

June 10th, 2015 at 9:37 AM ^

Hmm...javascript slider for images, box widgets at the bottom and the side, and dynamic adjusting of content to match the browser window size.

1998, not so much.  Looks like a very much modern day Word Press template, and you are confusing minimalism and solid colors with outdated design.

Joined: 10/25/2008

MGoPoints: 13993

ScruffyTheJanitor

June 10th, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^

It probably seemed a lot less crazy then  for a recruit to pick Michigan based off of his "gut" (with out having visted campus or even meetting the head coach). I hope Harbaugh can get us back to that point (Keith Washington, any one?). 

Joined: 02/03/2011

MGoPoints: 12197

Spunky

June 10th, 2015 at 9:39 AM ^

Great to hear from Leon. And I like that everything worked out so well for him after simply following his gut to Michigan from California.

Joined: 09/12/2012

MGoPoints: 2392

oriental andrew

June 10th, 2015 at 10:16 AM ^

Great to hear Hall's side of things, which is all new to me. He seems like a good, humble guy. Refreshing.

One nit to pick - "weary" = tired. "wary" = cautious, which is the word you were looking for in the following sentence: 

"After being selected with the 18th overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, Hall headed into camp a bit weary of what he would be going up against. "

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 56652

Bando Calrissian

June 10th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^

I had a discussion section with Leon when we were in school. It was in one of those terrrible basement classrooms in the Frieze Building, IIRC. He was a really nice guy, asked a lot of good questions. 

/coolstorybro

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 68275

LSAClassOf2000

June 10th, 2015 at 12:13 PM ^

Very nice interview and article - thanks for sharing that!

As a bit of trivia, for those who weren't aware, Leon Hall's wife is the daughter of longtime WDIV Detroit anchor Carmen Harlan and her first husband. His brother-in-law - Joseph Cobb (Harlan's son by that same first marriage) - married Eleanor Ford, who is the daughter of Bill Ford Jr., so he's reasonably connected in the area by marriage. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130827

chatster

June 10th, 2015 at 1:34 PM ^

Maybe it’s a personal bias from having been a one-time sports journalist, but I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated the feature stories that have given us insight into what these athletes’ lives are like “outside the lines” (with apologies for the ESPN reference.)
 
Considering the amount of anonymous criticism that’s prevalent for athletes in the world of Internet journalism and social media, I find it nice to read about the personal side of these athletes.
 
I suspect that it's not easy to get a new website up and running, especially with all the competing University of Michigan sports websites and blogs, and to find the time you have to devote to getting interviews and having stories written, edited and proofread. I hope that your efforts are rewarded. Best of luck.
 
Some questions:
 
Any chance of interviewing David Cone, Jack Kennedy and Joe Reynolds about their musical careers and their experiences as Michigan football scout team players?
 
Have you considered weekly updates, even if they’re not in-depth feature pieces, on former Michigan football players who’ve “turned pro in something other than sports?”  Sort of like a “Where Are They Now?” column?
 
Is the writer Brian Rzeppa any relation to the former St. Louis sportscaster Chris “Zip” Rzeppa?

Joined: 09/14/2010

MGoPoints: 27057

Kaminski16

June 10th, 2015 at 4:25 PM ^

Firstly, thanks for the encouragement. It's been a lot of fun for the two of us to get this started and it's a great outlet to be able to write about the program I love so much. 

As for your questions, we will add those three to the list of potential feature stories and try to get in contact with them. As for the "Where Are They Now?", that is also something I'll consider. I'll have to ask about "Zip" Rzeppa! 

Joined: 09/07/2010

MGoPoints: 1527