Will Hall - Football Coach

Will Hall

Title:
Head Football Coach
Phone:
266-5393

At his introductory press conference in December of 2020 as the 22nd head coach of Southern Miss football, Will Hall spoke about how ‘attitude is everything’ in his initial comments to those in attendance at Reed Green Coliseum.

That attitude has provided a relentlessly positive approach in how he has communicated and prepared his players, elevated the growth of every facet of this football program, while also energizing a fan base since first taking the stage as the Golden Eagles top football coach.

In his opening season for the Golden Eagles, adversity struck hard for the program as the Golden Eagles saw most of their quarterback corps go down due to injury during the early portion of the season.

Despite that fact, the Golden Eagles remained upbeat each week and transitioned its offense that many fans dubbed the “Superback” featuring a running back overseeing the offense from a shotgun position toward the latter part of the campaign.

That transition allowed the Golden Eagles to win two of their final three games of the campaign, while also almost knocking off the league champion, UTSA, in San Antonio.

Hall also oversaw a Nasty Bunch defense that provided many highlights, including holding its opponents to the second fewest first downs in the country (197), while collecting the fourth most fumble recoveries (13).

The defense gave up just 358.5 yards per game, which ranked No. 3 in Conference USA and No. 42 in the country. Southern Miss bettered their national ranking in total defense by 18 spots from the previous year.

In year two, the Golden Eagles made great strides in the school’s first year in the Sun Belt Conference, bettering their win total by four from the previous season and reaching a bowl game for the first time since the 2019 season. The Golden Eagles defeated Rice, 38-24, in the LendingTree Bowl in Mobile, Ala., behind a school-record 329 rushing yards from Frank Gore, Jr., to give the school its first bowl win since 2016.

The Golden Eagles were also one of 16 FBS programs to play three 10-win teams during the year and Hall registered arguably his biggest win of his early tenure in Hattiesburg against his old program, Tulane, 27-24, in New Orleans. The Green Wave went on to win 12 games, including a victory in the Cotton Bowl over USC.

At one point during the 2022 campaign, Southern Miss captured three-straight victories and won five of six games over that stretch.

His total offense national ranking jumped 28 spots from the previous season as the Golden Eagles ranked No. 8 in passing yards per completion (14.13), while Gore, Jr., became the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Ito Smith in 2017.

On defense, the unit ranked No. 2 in tackles for loss (8.3 per game), No. 3 nationally in fourth down conversions (.231), No. 4 in sacks (3.38 per game) and defensive touchdowns (4), No. 7 in interceptions (17). On special teams, the Golden Eagles ranked fifth in blocked kicks (5), No. 14 in blocked punts (2) and No. 19 in punt returns (11.92).

In year three, it was Gore again that highlighted the Golden Eagle offense as he ranked No. 28 nationally in rushing yards per game at 94.3.

He also was No. 35 in all-purpose yards per contest (112.67) and his total touchdowns of 13 ranked him No. 31 in the country. It was Gore’s rushing that helped the Golden Eagles win consecutive games in November. Gore rushed for 131 yards in a home win over ULM, followed by a 158-yard, three touchdown performance the following week in an overtime victory at Louisiana. Gore finished his career ranked No. 3 in rushing at the school with 4,022 yards.

Teammate Jakarius Caston helped in the offensive attack by averaging 18.82 yards per catch, which ranked No. 13 in the country. The squad also saw the emergence of freshman quarterback Ethan Crawford, who started the final two games of the season and threw for 240 yards on 17-of-36 passing with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Southern Miss also ranked No. 6 in time of possession at 33 minutes, 12 seconds per contest.

The Golden Eagle defense showed a penchant for forcing turnovers, capturing 17 on the year, which ranked No. 46 in turnover margin in the country. Southern Miss also returns its top tackler from a season ago, Dylan Lawrence, who posted 78 stops. Jalil Clemons also returns on defense after posting team highs for both sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (11.0).

The special teams also enjoyed a solid season in 2023 as Andrew Stein finished No. 29 nationally in field goals made per game (1.42), while Ti Mims finished No. 2 in punt return touchdowns with one, and No. 13 in punt returns at 11.1 yards per return. Antavious Willis ranked No. 32 in the country in yards per kickoff returns at 22.2 and 10th in combined kick returns with 645.

Over his first three seasons, Hall has put together his roster of mostly Mississippi players and the 2023 roster had 71 players, or 66.4 percent of the team, represented by the Magnolia State.

Hall, a native of Amory, Miss., came to Southern Miss after serving the previous two years as offensive coordinator at Tulane.

Hall made an immediate impact on the Tulane offense and helped the Green Wave rewrite their offensive record books. He helped Tulane post one of the most successful offensive seasons in program history in 2019. The Green Wave finished the season ranked 11th in the nation in rushing offense (243.2), 22nd in total offense (449.3) and 30th in scoring offense (33.1). Hall helped the Green Wave rush for over 200 yards in nine games in 2019 and over 300 times four times.

The Tulane offense set the program record in rushing yards at 3,162 yards in 2019. The offense ranked second in program history in rushing yards per game (243.2), rushing touchdowns (33) and rushing first downs (166).

Tulane’s offense also eclipsed 500 yards five times, including a season-high 634 total yards against UConn. The Green Wave also set a season-high in passing yards against the Huskies with 323.

In 2020, the Green Wave enjoyed more success offensively as they finished No. 17 nationally in rushing offense (217.1), No. 19 in first downs (258) and No. 22 in scoring offense (34.7), while adding two more 500-yard total offensive games to his resume.

Hall joined the Green Wave coaching staff after he spent the 2018 campaign as the Associate Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach at the University of Memphis where he helped guide the Tigers to the American Athletic Conference Championship game for the second straight season and helped the Tigers to their fifth straight bowl appearance.

During his lone season at Memphis, Hall helped guide the Tigers to a school record 42 rushing touchdowns during the regular season. In addition, Memphis finished the regular season with 3,311 rushing yards, setting a new school record.

Memphis' offense ranked in the nation's top 10 in rushing (No. 5, 275.9), scoring offense (No. 6, 43.8) and total offense (No. 6, 530.3) under Hall's assistance. In addition, Hall helped four Memphis offensive players earn All-AAC honors.

Hall joined the Memphis staff in January 2018 after spending the 2017 season as the offensive coordinator for the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, where six offensive players received all-conference honors. The Cajuns ranked among the best in the nation in red zone offense and turnovers lost with just 16.

In his one season as offensive coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette, the Ragin' Cajuns compiled the Sun Belt Conference's third-best rushing offense with 2,204 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns. The Louisiana-Lafayette offense tied for the second-fewest turnovers in the Sun Belt during the 2017 season. The Cajuns were also efficient in the red zone, leading the Sun Belt by scoring on 92.9-percent of their red zone chances.

In his three-year head coaching stint at West Georgia (UWG), Hall led the Wolves to a 31-9 record, the first Gulf South Conference (GSC) title since 2000 and a pair of NCAA Division II semifinal appearances. His first two seasons at UWG produced a pair of 12-win seasons before he finished 7-4 in 2016.

Success was immediate for Hall as the Wolves set multiple school records, won their first GSC title in 14 years and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Under his direction, a program that had not made an impact in the conference, much less nationally, in over a decade transformed into the talk of the nation in NCAA Division II. Under Hall's direction, the Wolves were nationally ranked for 17 weeks consecutively and earned the program's first No. 1 national ranking on Oct. 26, 2015.

Hall's first UWG squad in 2014 caught more than a few people by surprise. The Wolves finished the regular season strong with a 9-2 record and earned the program's first NCAA playoffs bid since 2000. Road wins at Tuskegee, Delta State, and Valdosta State were the first postseason victories in the school's Division II history and gave UWG the NCAA Super Region 2 title.

Though UWG caught no one by surprise in 2015, it didn't matter. Hall's juggernaut roared through the first nine games of the regular season, all wins, and none were closer than a 17-point margin. A three-touchdown, Week 8 win over nationally ranked North Alabama pushed the Wolves into the top spot in the nation in Division II for the first time in school history.

Hall was twice named GSC Coach of the Year and was the Super Region 2 Coach of the Year.

In his first season at West Georgia, more than 30 team and individual records fell. In addition to setting records, the Wolves hauled in individual accolades.

Sixteen players earned All-Gulf South Conference recognition and seven received All-American distinction, which included the program's first Academic All-American in Alex Macaulay.

From 2011-13 as the head coach at West Alabama, his teams won two league titles and twice earned spots in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

Hall's players also have had success at the next level, and among that group of honored athletes is 2015 Super Bowl hero and former Tennessee Titan Malcolm Butler, who was a two-time All-GSC performer for Hall at West Alabama. In the spring of 2016, offensive tackle Dominique Robertson became the first UWG player in school history to receive an invitation to the NFL Draft Combine.

Prior to his six seasons at West Alabama, Hall enjoyed successful stints on the coaching staffs at Arkansas-Monticello, Southwest Baptist, Henderson State and Presbyterian. Hall's achievements in the coaching profession are a carryover from his illustrious career on the playing field at North Alabama.

Hall played for his father, Bobby Hall, at Amory High School leading the Panthers to the 1998 Mississippi High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class 3A state title. From 1999-2000, he attended Northwest Mississippi Community College, where he was a two-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American.

In 2000, Hall set a NJCAA record for total offense in a season (4,075 yards) and added an NJCAA single-game record with nine touchdown passes.

Hall then moved to North Alabama, where he was a quarterback for the Lions from 2002-03. He won the Harlan Hill Trophy in 2003, emblematic of being America's top player in NCAA Division II. In 2003, Hall, who threw for 3,531 yards and 30 touchdowns, led the Lions to a 13-1 record and an NCAA Division II semifinals appearance.

In 2004, Hall signed a contract to play for the Tupelo FireAnts of the National Indoor Football League. Playing once again for his father, who was the head coach for the team, Hall passed for 2,046 yards and 44 touchdowns while rushing for 13 scores in the 14-game season.

A 2003 graduate of North Alabama, Hall, and wife Rebecca, have two sons – Tripp and Pete.