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Bowie State QB Amir Hall named Black College Football Player of the Year
He was honored as part of the Black College Hall of Fame induction ceremonies
11:22 AMSophomore year will go down as one to remember for Bowie State quarterback Amir Hall. Actually, make that sophomore and junior years. Hall, the Bowie, Maryland, native who was selected as the 2017 recipient of the Black College Football Player of the Year, is basking in the glow and already thinking about a three-peat, adding more memories to a college career that’s on quite the trajectory.
“You’re gonna see a lot of that senior swag this year,” Hall told HBCU Gameday on Feb. 10 in Atlanta moments before receiving the Deacon Jones Award, named after the football legend and inaugural Black College Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Hall, who played quarterback at Riverdale Baptist High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, but didn’t have the gaudy numbers to garner interest from the nation’s top Division I schools, told The Undefeated in November that he learned to be patient, even while frustrations grew as the phone didn’t ring.
The nation’s loss became Bowie State’s gain, as the 6-foot-4 quarterback accounted for 45 touchdowns and a 9-1 record as sophomore. He outdid himself as a junior with a 9-2 regular-season record and a Division II playoff appearance, throwing for 3,519 yards and 41 touchdown passes in 11 games. Hall threw for at least 300 yards in a game seven times and surpassed 400 yards twice.
“Shoutout to everyone back in Bowie for believing in me,” added Hall, who was also named the 2017 SBN Doug Williams Offensive Player of the Year. “This trophy is for them and my family.”
Hall beat out an impressive field of finalists, including running back Trenton Cannon (Virginia State), quarterback DeVante Kincade (Grambling State) and quarterback Lamar Raynard (North Carolina A&T State).
“This was an outstanding group of finalists this year,” said James “Shack” Harris, who himself had a stellar career at Grambling, which he led to three Southwestern Athletic Conference championships in the late 1960s, and is among the Black College Football Hall of Fame trustees who also include Mel Blount, Art Shell and Doug Williams. “Amir had one of the most prolific seasons for a quarterback in CIAA history, and we congratulate him on winning this prestigious award.”
Never missing an opportunity to tout her league, CIAA commissioner Jacqie McWilliams congratulated Hall, lifting him up as exemplary. “Amir exemplifies all that Bowie State, Division II and the CIAA stands for as a student-athlete,” said McWilliams, who is counting down to the CIAA tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, Feb. 27 to March 3. “He is part of a unique and honorable class that represents significant history and leadership, and we are blessed to have him in the CIAA family.”
While grateful for the accolades, Hall knows the grind never stops — particularly since he’s looking to make his senior year epic.
“I’m working on getting in the weight room,” he said, “trying to eat a lot more and doing what I’ve been doing, and getting in the film room.”
We’ll be watching.