@Meat Cove, have you seen this kid in-person?
First, let's start with the weirdness of this true freshman class. Because of COVID-19, a lot of coaches couldn't see players in person for a while before they arrived on campus. So imagine when a kicker you saw in your camp a couple of years ago showed up, hit the weights and now stands 6-8, 232 pounds and is booming 74-yard field goals in practice in his size-14 shoes. That's how the uncommonly large Brendan Hall has confounded SMU coach Sonny Dykes.
"I've never, ever, ever seen anything like it in my life," Dykes said.
Hall's story seems like pre-internet lore. He played for a team called the Springtown Porcupines (from Springtown, Texas, population 2,658, northwest of Fort Worth) and didn't have a private kicking coach or hit the specialized kicking camps circuit. He caught Dykes' eye at an SMU camp when he kept kicking balls out of the end zone on kickoffs, with a couple even going into the stands. The Mustangs didn't have anyone who could match a kid about to go into his junior year in high school. Dykes had to have him.
Hall chose SMU over bigger schools when the secret started to get out -- such as when he made a 49-yarder to send a playoff game into overtime -- because the Mustangs were the first to offer him and he felt comfortable in a small-school setting close to his hometown.
"He's a very quiet kid," Dykes said. "His leg does all the talking."
Dykes said he has regularly seen Hall drill kicks 50 to 70 yards, or punts with a five-second hang time in practice. He'll be the Mustangs' kickoff guy and punter, and he will come in on long kicks when SMU opens with Abilene Christian on Saturday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+/ESPN App).
"The college football record right now for a field goal without a tee is 65 yards [by Martin Gramatica for Kansas State in 1998]," Dykes said. "I think Brandon's got a chance to break that thing."
Hall has bulked up since arriving to SMU in June, and Dykes said he can see him being 250-260 one day. He even jokes with Hall he might have to switch positions.
"If he gets up to 290, he may have to play tackle," he said.
SMU gets a huge surprise in its 6-foot-8, 232-pound kicker
We're here to kick off the season in a big way, so let's go down to Dallas, where they're doing the same thing -- with a larger-than-average kicker.First, let's start with the weirdness of this true freshman class. Because of COVID-19, a lot of coaches couldn't see players in person for a while before they arrived on campus. So imagine when a kicker you saw in your camp a couple of years ago showed up, hit the weights and now stands 6-8, 232 pounds and is booming 74-yard field goals in practice in his size-14 shoes. That's how the uncommonly large Brendan Hall has confounded SMU coach Sonny Dykes.
"I've never, ever, ever seen anything like it in my life," Dykes said.
Hall's story seems like pre-internet lore. He played for a team called the Springtown Porcupines (from Springtown, Texas, population 2,658, northwest of Fort Worth) and didn't have a private kicking coach or hit the specialized kicking camps circuit. He caught Dykes' eye at an SMU camp when he kept kicking balls out of the end zone on kickoffs, with a couple even going into the stands. The Mustangs didn't have anyone who could match a kid about to go into his junior year in high school. Dykes had to have him.
Hall chose SMU over bigger schools when the secret started to get out -- such as when he made a 49-yarder to send a playoff game into overtime -- because the Mustangs were the first to offer him and he felt comfortable in a small-school setting close to his hometown.
"He's a very quiet kid," Dykes said. "His leg does all the talking."
Dykes said he has regularly seen Hall drill kicks 50 to 70 yards, or punts with a five-second hang time in practice. He'll be the Mustangs' kickoff guy and punter, and he will come in on long kicks when SMU opens with Abilene Christian on Saturday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+/ESPN App).
"The college football record right now for a field goal without a tee is 65 yards [by Martin Gramatica for Kansas State in 1998]," Dykes said. "I think Brandon's got a chance to break that thing."
Hall has bulked up since arriving to SMU in June, and Dykes said he can see him being 250-260 one day. He even jokes with Hall he might have to switch positions.
"If he gets up to 290, he may have to play tackle," he said.
