Hunt For Success

Calhoun City, Mississippi, is a small dot on the map.

The population of the tiny town about an hour northwest of Starkville registered at a shade over 1,700 in the 2016 census. But Calhoun City is home for North Texas senior cornerback Kemon Hall.

"Calhoun City is a small little town, but the country life allowed me to learn a lot from a lot of the older people in town," Hall said. "There are a lot of people that I look up to there and they have always been there for me."

One of Hall's biggest passions off the field has played a big role in his life, and has provided parallels that have helped him grow in football – hunting.

"I've seen my granddad come in and out of the house after hunting since I was like five," Hall said. "I just caught on to it and from there, I always wanted to do what he was doing. That's where I got the love from.

"I hunted with my granddad when I was old enough to tote my own gun," Hall said. "He used to take me when I was younger and couldn't carry a gun, but when I got to be about eight, he got me a single-barrel 20 gauge and I was shooting at deer but not touching them. I was killing rabbits and other smaller animals. The experience with the beagles and we had to feed them every morning. That is what I liked best, was loading up the dogs, getting the four-wheeler and just going to the store to meet up with our hunting buddies and go out and have fun."

Hall sees similarities between hunting and his other passion, football. The biggest crossover between the two comes down to focus and discipline. Both traits translate to success in both arenas.

"It's a challenge when you're hunting. "Just going out there is peaceful and allows me to get away. It lets me stay out of trouble and stay out of the neighborhood."

On a roster composed of 75% native Texans, Hall is one of just two Mean Green players that hail from the Magnolia State. He carries his home with him near and dear to his heart while in Denton, and his country-style upbringing has helped shape him into who he is today.

"I am a person that always tries to do the right thing," Hall said. "I never get too high or too low and always try to lead by example."

The example Hall followed as a kid came from former Green Bay Packers safety, M.D. Jennings, who spent three seasons in the National Football League following a successful career at Arkansas State. Nine years his senior, Jennings served as a father figure for Hall, providing guidance and a road map for Hall to follow a similar path in life and football.

"Since I was growing up, M.D. has always been there," Hall said of his mentor. "Whenever he'd come home to train, he'd be sure to get with me and teach me whatever he knew. He always talked to me and taught me how to do the right things to help me get better on and off the field."

Jennings, who also came through Calhoun City high school, made the jump straight from high school to the division one level, while Hall journeyed through a pair of junior colleges before landing in Denton.

Hall was a bit of a late bloomer with football, starting to play in seventh grade, but he fell in love with the game quickly. Hall played sparingly his first two seasons at Calhoun City, but eventually broke through at the end of his junior season. An injury to a teammate gave him an opportunity to get on the field that year, and eventually turned into a starting role as a senior, and Hall never looked back.

"I took advantage of my opportunity," Hall said. "My coaches helped me after practice. My defensive backs coach, coach [Rob] Fox would always help me learn the scheme, which let me catch on really fast."

As he progressed, he started to garner some interest from junior colleges, and despite some questions about Hall's size, he was offered and accepted a scholarship offer to play at Cahoma Community College.

After struggling through an 0-9 season, Hall transferred to Itawamba Community College to play under Calhoun City natives, head coach Sean Cannon and defensive backs coach Tyrone Fox.

Hall earned a starting spot at corner throughout his initial fall camp at ICC and had a big impact on the field, intercepting a pair of passes and posting 45 tackles in nine appearances. All that said, on signing day, Hall thought he was headed to Northwestern State in Natchitoches, Louisiana, to continue his playing career. That's when Cannon notified Hall that he had received a call from North Texas linebackers coach Jeff Koonz and that the Mean Green were looking for a cornerback.

Coach Cannon sent over the film, and after watching it, North Texas' staff made the decision to offer Hall, who did a little research on Denton and the university, committed on the spot, sight unseen. In fact, Hall had never even been to Texas before.

"I was all smiles," Hall said of the opportunity that awaited him in Denton. "When I got here, it immediately felt like home."

Hall has embraced a leadership role as a senior and has spent a lot of time and effort making sure he is doing taking every opportunity to continue to get better.

"Whatever I can do to help make this team better, I'm going to do that," Hall said of his plans for his senior season.

Hall carries a lot of pride with him representing Calhoun City and his home state of Mississippi. The most rewarding part of going back home is getting to speak to younger kids to try and give them a head start on success in life through hard work.

Hall's lasting message when he speaks to kids in Calhoun City is to take advantage of their opportunities. That is exactly what he has done to this point for himself.

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