Hall's Decision 'A Special Memory'

For any player the moment of his commitment to his future college program is among the biggest moments in his young life. For Charlotte (N.C.) Vance tight end Jeremiah Hall it was even more than that. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound prospect, who announced his commitment to the Sooners on Sunday afternoon, made the call to Sooner assistant Jay Boulware the night before in a special surrounding.

"I was in downtown San Francisco in Union Square on top of a skyscraper on the roof and made that what was a special moment for me to remember," Hall said of his moment. "Since I made the decision I pretty much have no regrets. I pretty much knew what I was going to do on Thursday and I called coach (Jay) Boulware on Saturday evening."

"(It was) definitely one of the best days of my life so far. My family is excited, I’m excited, the coaching staff is excited. A lot of people that have been involved and supported me are behind me.

"To be honest it really still hasn’t sunk in. I just got back from vacation, I’m still a bit tired from that. I haven’t seen my head coach, all of my family yet. It is a great feeling, people are looking for something to secure your future – just for the next four years, I have a plan, I know what I’m going to do and I have people to help me. It is something I’m looking forward to."

Hall came to his decision almost a month to the day, May 10, from the time he was offered by the Sooners. And though he is ranked as the nation's No. 22 tight end it was Oklahoma's thoughts on his versatility that drew him to Norman, Okla. so quickly.

"(They see my) flexibility and basically versatility. The fact that Dimitri Flowers does more than one job, I like the challenge of that. He is held responsible for multiple things, I kind of like moving around in the backfield, being detached. I like being used in multiple ways and that’s exactly what coach (Linclon) Riley does with Dimitri Flowers," he explained.

"They say that is who I’d be replacing, or well, that would be my position when I go there.

"That was very, I guess you’d say unique compared to a lot of other schools that were recruiting me as a true ‘Y’. I think they saw a need for something different."

As Hall said the Sooners pitch was more unique than many of it's competition but to provide some deeper perspective on just what type of player the Sooners landed with Hall's commitment than to look at what many schools saw in how Hall might help their offense.

"Most of the schools were a mix, some were a mix of a true tight end and a hback. Some were fullback, some were straight tight end. I don’t think the straight ‘Y’, true tight end is a good fit for me. I had a conversation with my head coach about that, I just don’t think that would be the best option for me. I don’t think I would be able to succeed and reach my full potential in an offense like that. So it was a good mix (of ways to use me), I had about 16 offers, 17 including Oklahoma. It was a good mix of hback, Y, and I do believe that Lincoln Riley and the new OC for Pittsburgh, those are the two I think I fit most in," he said.

"If you look at my profile I did talk highly of Pitt, but obviously in the end Oklahoma was the best fit for me."

But beyond what others think of him - what does Hall think of his own game?

"Definitely one of my strengths earlier is my versatility, my talent to not only block but catch, move around on the field, flex out. I’ll be doing all of those things at Oklahoma – running the football, blocking, and running routes. I definitely want to work on my speed, they want a more flexible guy. Flowers has been more of a fullback – they want someone they can flex out more. I’ll definitely have to work on that. To answer the question more specifically I want to work more on my route running and my speed so I can beat a linebacker and a safety at the college level," he said.

Though Hall makes it clear that his fit inside of Riley's Oklahoma offense was a big factor in his decision it was far from the only thing that played a role. A big part of his choice was Boulware's ability to make both he and his family feel as though they were a clear priority for him.

"When they first offered me, he wanted to make sure my parents were there – he was the only coach to do that. He made sure my parents were in contact, he asked about them – when I was on the phone with him he asked to talk to them. When he first offered me he talked to my dad for about half an hour and my mom for about 45 minutes. They had a chance to ask their questions and get more comfortable compared to any other school, university, or recruiter," Hall recalled. "That was something that made them stick out, their staff, but also coach Boulware, more specifically.

"That does matter to me, I’ve told several recruiters that I’m a people person. If I don’t feel right about how you’re treating me and my family there is a good chance I’m not going there."

That work from Boulware and Riley may have taken a few weeks to really take root but Hall said the decision wasn't rushed as he began to feel the Sooners could be the choice for him several weeks after his offer and several weeks before his eventual commitment.

"It was a gradual process, probably a week and a half before this, three weeks ago I started thinking about the decision a little bit more. I started asking questions about different schools including Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Maryland. I started thinking about Oklahoma a bit more, they were pretty much the only school on my mind. I was really nervous as Oklahoma is a bit of a ways away," he said.

A big part in making him feel like that distance could be bridged was, not surprisingly, handled by the hashtagged Oklahoma commitment class of 2017, #SoonerSquad17.

"Yeah, they reached out to me 30 minutes I got offered. I’ve already gotten to know some of the guys, they are a great group of guys, they are funny, I’m excited about what is to come."