Dante Hall

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**Dante Hall**
National Football League debut
St. Louis Rams — No. 82
Wide receiver / Return specialist
Date of birth: September 20, 1978 (1978-09-20) (age 29)
Place of birth: Lufkin, Texas
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Weight: 187 lb (85 kg)
2000 for the Kansas City Chiefs
Career history
College: Texas A&M
NFL Draft: 2000 / Round: 5 / Pick: 153
Teams: Kansas City Chiefs (2000-2006) St. Louis Rams (2007-present)
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl (x2)
Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season)
Receptions	150
Receiving Yards	1,642
Receiving TDs	9
Stats at NFL.com

Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978 in Lufkin, Texas) nicknamed "X-Man", "The X-factor", "The Human Torch" and "The Human Joystick"^{[citation needed]} is a National Football League kick returner, punt returner, and wide receiver for the St. Louis Rams. He was a fifth round draft pick out of Texas A&M University by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2000 NFL Draft. He was traded by the Chiefs to the St. Louis Rams on April 25, 2007 for the Rams' third and fifth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.^[1]

1 High school & college career
2 NFL career
3 Media
4 Nicknames
5 References
6 External links

[edit] High school & college career

Hall played high school football for Nimitz High School in Harris County, Texas (near Houston).

He played for Texas A&M University as a tailback and kick/punt returner. His 4,707 all-purpose yards place him second in school history behind Darren Lewis.^[2]

[edit] NFL career

The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Dante Hall in the fifth-round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut on September 24, 2000 as a kick/punt returner. In five games he returned 17 kickoffs for 358 yards and six punts for 37 yards.^[2]

He spent the spring of 2001 playing in NFL Europe for the Scottish Claymores as a wide receiver. He led the league with 26 kickoff returns for 635 yards and was second in punt returns with 15 for 177 yards and second in combined net yards with 1,286.^[2]

In 2002, Dante had his first NFL touchdown off a 60-yard reception at the New York Jets on October 6, 2002.^[3]Hall returned 1 kickoff and 2 punts for touchdowns. His two touchdowns off punt returns tied him for first in Chief franchise history. The 2002 NFL season earned Dante his first NFL Pro Bowl, being selected as a kick returner.^[2] Dante Hall became the second player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown in the same game.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Hall returned a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown four games in a row, which is an NFL record.^[3] The most memorable moment of his career came against the Denver Broncos in which he reversed direction 2 times to evade the entire special teams unit.^{[citation needed]} Hall was named to the 2004 Pro Bowl as a kick/punt returner for his second time.^[2]

In 2004, Hall touched the ball eight times for 242 yards vs. the San Diego Chargers on November 28, 2004. His six kickoff returns for 233 yards with a 96-yard touchdown in the game set a career-high. On December 19, 2004, he returned the opening kickoff 97-yards for a touchdown. This touchdown made him the Chiefs' franchise leader in career kickoff return touchdowns and career special teams touchdowns. During the 2004 NFL season, Hall set single-season Chiefs' franchise records with 68 kickoff returns and career-high 1,718 kickoff return yards.^[3]

In 2005, in a memorable game against the Denver Broncos, Hall appeared to be on his way to a sure kickoff return for a touchdown, but he surprisingly fumbled the ball without being touched by a defensive player. However, Hall made up for his mistake by returning a different kickoff for a touchdown later in the game.^{[citation needed]} With a touchdown on a kickoff return against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 2, 2005, he tied four players, among them Ollie Matson and Gale Sayers, for the most career kickoff return touchdowns, with six. This was also his 10th kick return TD, placing him third in that category behind Brian Mitchell (13) and Eric Metcalf (12).^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Hall had two kickoffs for 86 yards and three punts for seven yards in Week 12 vs. the Denver Broncos on November 23, 2006. This gamed made him the sixth player to have 10,000 career kick return yards. Dante played his second postseason game at Indianapolis on January 6, 2007.^[3] In a rematch from the 2003 Divisional Playoffs.

In 2007, Hall was traded along with a third-round draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for their third and fifth-round draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. During this time his forty yard dash was recorded as a 4.21. Hall tied Metcalf on September 30, 2007 against the Dallas Cowboys with his 12th return for a touchdown. On October 7, Hall injured his ankle vs. the Arizona Cardinals, making him miss four games. He further aggravated his ankle on November 25 vs. the Seattle Seahawks and was placed on injured reserve.^[4]

[edit] Media

Dante Hall is the co-author of Dante Hall: X-Factor, a book that details his journey from Texas A&M running back to one of the best kick returners in the NFL. He is mentioned in Lil Wayne's song "Dipset (Reppin Time)" in the line "I'm like Dante Hall, I just throw up the X."

[edit] Nicknames

Dante Hall has established many nicknames in his career, perhaps the most well know being "The X-factor", referring to how whenever he scored a touchdown he would cross his forearms to resemble an x. Hall's other nicknames include "The Human Glowstick", referring to the agility he showed during returns, and "The Human Torch", referring to his speed.