Due to Kirk Cousins’s awful Achilles injury that he sustained last week that has put him out for the rest of the season, Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback Jaren Hall is set to make his first NFL start. Hall is presented with a huge opportunity to show he belongs in the NFL as he takes over for Cousins, who is widely viewed as one of the NFL’s better quarterbacks.
But who is Hall, and how did he get here? Let’s take a closer look at the new Vikings starting quarterback.
Jaren Hall’s Road to the NFL
Hall was born and raised in Spanish Fork, Utah, and attended Maple Mountain High School. He was a lightly recruited three-star recruit in high school despite putting up some impressive numbers during his high school career. During his career, he had 5,109 passing yards and 52 touchdowns.
According to ESPN, Hall only received two Division I scholarship offers — one from Utah and the other being BYU. After going on a visit to both schools, Hall committed to BYU to continue his college career.
MORE: What College Did Jaren Hall Go To?
During his freshman year with the Cougars, Hall only appeared in two games before redshirting that season to preserve a year of eligibility. The following season, he appeared in seven games, starting two and finishing with a 1-1 record on the season.
It wouldn’t be until his fourth year on campus, following another redshirt (this time a medical one), before Hall saw extensive action for the Cougars. He started the next 22 games for BYU, going 15-7 during his tenure as QB1.
For his career, Hall finished with a 65.2 completion percentage for 6,174 passing yards, 52 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while also adding nine rushing touchdowns during that time as well.
Following his college career that also included playing for the BYU baseball team for two seasons, Hall was drafted by the Vikings in the fifth round (No. 164 overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft. To this point, Hall has only appeared in one game, last week following Cousins’ injury, and is now in line to be Minnesota’s starting QB going forward.
Big Opportunity for the Rookie QB
There isn’t much history to speak of when you talk about Hall and his time playing quarterback. He’s only started 24 games at the position going back to 2018 and is now thrust into the starting role for a 4-4 Vikings team that is still very much in the playoff race this season.
Hall and the team are about to face a challenge, but he has a chance to jump-start his career and put himself on the map nationally with a solid performance on Sunday.
The expectations of what the Vikings had hoped the season would be may have changed with Cousins’ injury, but Hall has a chance to restore the faith if he’s able to come out and play well in his first opportunity.
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