Dae’vonn Hall via Twitter
2024 Husker Signee Analysis: Wide Receiver Dae’vonn Hall
Nebraska dipped into the portal during this offseason to add experience to a young wide receiver room still in the beginning stages of a rebuild. Jahmal Banks (Wake Forest) and Isaiah Neyor (Texas) are good bets to occupy starting roles in 2024, while the team continues to rely on a quartet of 2023 recruits for heavy contributions: Malachi Coleman, Jaylen Lloyd, Jaidyn Doss and Demitrius Bell.
That doesn't mean there won't be opportunities for one or more members of an impressive 2024 haul to hit campus and take a job in the rotation. Chief among them will be Dae’vonn Hall.
Dae'vonn has lived most of his life in Plattsmouth, Neb., as the adopted son of his parents, Rick and Tammy Hall. Dae’vonn first stayed with the foster family for about six months until he was 1 year old, and after a short stint with his biological mother, the arrangement became permanent. Rick and Tammy officially adopted Dae’vonn in May 2008, with his little brother Shaun joining him soon after to live permanently with the Halls and their four older children.
Hall's recruitment took plenty of twists and turns ever since he earned early scholarship offers from Iowa (Sept. 8, 2020) and Nebraska (Dec. 1, 2020) after earning varsity snaps as a freshman playing for Bellevue West, one of the best programs in the state. He's been considered a rising star in the region ever since.
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The Halls are huge Nebraska fans who regularly host watch parties and that rubbed off on Dae’vonn, who grew up rooting for the Huskers. Because of that, most felt - at least initially - Hall would be an early piece to the 2024 class for the Huskers.
The Huskers were indeed an early favorite, but Hall admittingly liked the recruiting process, and the turmoil that surrounded Scott Frost during his sophomore and junior seasons didn't do the Husker program any favors in his recruitment.
Hall enjoyed a strong sophomore campaign that saw him catch 43 passes for 592 yards and nine touchdowns, helping the Thunderbirds to a 10-2 record and a state semifinal appearance.
By this time, however, Hall wasn't giving Nebraska much consideration. All that changed when Mickey Joseph was hired in Dec. 2021, and subsequently took over as interim head coach in Sept. 2022, during Hall's junior season. Dae’vonn and Joseph grew very close and a commitment seemed imminent.
Hall posted big numbers as junior that fall, grabbing 62 passes for 974 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning second-team All-Nebraska and second-team Super State selections for his play.
Unfortunately, interest in Nebraska waned after Matt Rhule was hired and Joseph (for obvious reasons) wasn't retained on his staff. Unlike other in-state recruits, Hall didn't go out of his way in the spring to build a better relationship with the new staff despite heavy interest on Nebraska's end.
Instead, Hall began to further explore options nationally, particularly in the SEC footprint. He focused on teams like Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Penn State, taking March visits to see the Nittany Lions and Aggies.
Husker coaches continued to reach out to try and get Hall on campus to get a feel for the new staff and the direction of the program. They invited him to watch a spring practice, attend their junior day in March and the Red-White game in April. He never made it to Lincoln, although he continued to talk about taking an official visit during the weekend of June 23-25.
Hall had a busy spring. He attended various camps and 7-v-7 tournaments and was always a standout. He also participated in track and put up outstanding numbers. Hall has PRs of 10.62 (100m), 22.21 (200m), 7.01 (60m) and 6' 10.5" in the high jump. Along with being part of Bellevue West's 4x400 relay team, Hall was a member of their state champion 4x100 relay team as a sophomore and took second-place as a junior.
With Dae’vonn continuing to give Nebraska scant attention, Evan Cooper got in contact to have a blunt conversation. With the month of June being such a vital recruiting month, he needed to know if Hall was in or out because they had other targets waiting. Hall was noncommittal and so a few days later Cooper called back to let him know they were effectively cutting ties with him.
Around the same time Hall attended a camp at Tennessee on June 7 in search of an offer. By all accounts he did extremely well, reportedly being timed at 22 mph which - according to Vols coaches - would have been the second-fastest time on the entire roster at the time. Still, no immediate offer came.
One by one, the schools Hall was prioritizing in spring filled up spots as he maneuvered through his recruitment. With Tennessee seemingly adopting the same strategy of slow-playing him while they waited on decisions from top-of-the-board targets, Hall shifted his approach.
Disillusioned, Hall rebooted his recruitment. He visited Kansas State on June 16 in an attempt to rekindle his relationship with the Wildcats - a team he hadn't corresponded with in nearly two years. The same day he was in Manhattan, his father was accompanying his younger brother Shaun to a Husker camp.
Hall's father approached Matt Rhule and began the process of mending fences. Bellevue West head coach Mike Huffman also got involved in efforts to restart the relationship.
Dae’vonn returned from his K-State visit and spoke with Rhule personally. On Monday, June 19, the scholarship was back on the table and rumors of an imminent commitment swirled, based off tweets put out by both Hall and teammate Isaiah McMorris hinting at a "Big announcement coming soon."
Tennessee, perhaps trying to correct its misstep, finally came through with an offer the same day. Truth be told, had they offered a week before he would have likely committed to them. But by now Dae’vonn was locked in with Nebraska.
Hall publicly announced his commitment along with Isaiah McMorris on June 23, the day their official visits began, making the news public in a dual announcement via Instagram. In actuality, Hall had committed to Rhule during their phone conversation on Monday, June 19, the same day he tweeted about the upcoming announcement.
Many of the schools he was looking at in spring, including Tennessee, tried to get back involved in his recruitment after he committed, but to his credit, Dae’vonn never wavered.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Hall's senior season was cut short because of injury, but he still managed to catch 23 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns, receiving honorable-mention all-state accolades from the Lincoln Journal Star.
Hall is ranked as a four-star recruit by Rivals and ESPN. He enrolled early and is taking part in winter conditioning and will participate in spring practices with an eye toward contributing this fall.
Hall has good size and actually plays bigger than his listed measurables. He's a smooth route runner with elite speed and excellent burst off the line of scrimmage. He has very good hands and uses his physicality to dominate 50-50 situations. He's elusive in the open field and is a threat to score whenever he has the ball in his hands.
I wouldn't be surprised if Hall cracks the rotation this fall. He's polished for a prep receiver and being on campus early should help him get a leg up on the competition.
