Brandon Hall enters his fourth season at Jacksonville State as the Gamecocks’ co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for John Grass and has helped develop the JSU defense into one of the best in the nation.
His first three seasons at JSU have seen unprecedented success for the Gamecocks. They are 33-6 and a perfect 23-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play with three OVC titles over the past three seasons and enter the 2017 season with the longest active conference win streak in all of Division I football at 24 games.
The 2016 season saw Gamecock football continue along the dominant path it has recently paved in FCS Football. JSU reached the No. 1 spot in the major polls for the second-straight year and entered the FCA Playoffs as the No. 3 National Seed, the third-straight season that JSU has been one of the top three seeds in the postseason. The Gamecocks went 10-2 and put together their third-straight perfect record in OVC play, making them the first team in league history to go three seasons in a row without a loss or a tie.
JSU was unbeaten against FCS foes in the 2016 regular season, and Hall’s defense was a big part of that. The Gamecocks once again boasted the OVC’s best defense and the fourth-best defense in FCS, holding opposing offenses to less than 275 yards per game. The Gamecocks were also the best in the nation at getting off of the field on third down, limiting foes to a .231 third-down conversion percentage.
JSU also ranked third nationally in red zone defense, fifth in rushing defense, seventh in scoring defense, seventh in interceptions, seventh in sacks, eighth in tackles for a loss and 11th in turnover margin.
Hall’s safeties unit was led by OVC Freshman of the Year Marlon Bridges, who stormed onto the collegiate scene to earn First Team All-OVC and All-America honors. Bridges started every game in the backfield and led the Gamecocks with 87 tackles in his first year of collegiate action. He led the nation with five forced fumbles and was third among all FCS freshmen with four interceptions. His nine takeaways led the OVC.
The 2015 campaign took Gamecock football to new heights. A 13-2 record included a 12-game win streak that was one shy of the school record and also featured over 50 school records. The Gamecocks’ lone losses were to No. 6 Auburn in overtime and to North Dakota State in the FCS title game.
JSU was ranked No. 1 in the polls for the first time in school history and held that ranking for 11 weeks. The Gamecocks went unbeaten again in the OVC to win their second-straight title and was warded the No. 1 national seed in the FCS Playoffs. JSU stood up to that seeding, downing No. 7 Chattanooga in overtime in the second round before routing No. 8 Charleston Southern and No. 7 Sam Houston State in the quarters and semis, respectively.
Hall had a pair of All-OVC players in his backfield, with free safety Folo Johnson and nickel back Brandon Bender claiming first team all-conference honors. The Gamecocks led the OVC and ranked 12th nationally in total defense (300.3 yards allowed per game), while also leading the OVC in rushing defense (120.9, 16th nationally) and passing defense (179.4, 18th nationally). The Gamecocks were 13th in turnovers gained and third nationally with 20 interceptions.
In his first season with the Gamecocks in 2014, Hall’s defensive unit made huge strides. The Gamecocks finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference in total defense and pass defense, while leading the league and ranking fourth in the nation in rushing defense at just 127.7 yards per game.
Cornerback Jermaine Hough led the OVC in interceptions per game and earned All-America honors in Hall’s backfield. The Gamecocks went 10-2 and a perfect 8-0 in OVC play to claim their fourth OVC title.
Hall, who served as the safeties coach under Gus Malzahn at Arkansas State in 2012, followed Malzahn to Auburn as a defensive assistant in 2013 and helped the Tigers advance to the FBS National Championship game against Florida State.Â
While at Arkansas State in 2012, the Red Wolves finished 10-3 and 7-1 to win the Sun Belt Conference Championship for the second straight year, including winning the final eight games of the season. The Redwolves also defeated No. 25 Kent State 17-13 in the GoDaddy.com Bowl to post the school’s first-ever bowl win, and also posted two shutouts during the season.
Before coaching at Arkansas State, Hall completed his second stint as defensive assistant at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to his second stop at OU, he also served as the co-defensive coordinator at Central Oklahoma, the defensive coordinator at Broken Arrow (Okla.) High School, the linebackers coach at Northern Iowa and he began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant coach with the Sooners.
Since graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with his bachelor’s degree, Hall has been a part of nine bowl teams, six conference championship squads and one national championship.
Hall’s most recent stop at Oklahoma saw the Sooners post a 10-3 record that included a 31-14 victory over Iowa in the Insight Bowl. He rejoined the Sooners after working as an assistant coach at Central Oklahoma the previous three seasons, including the 2008 campaign when the Bronchos won the the Lone Star Conference North Division with a perfect 5-0 record within the division.
Hall served on the coaching staff in a different capacity each year at UCO, including co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. Â
Hall went to UCO after spending the 2007 season as an assistant coach at Broken Arrow, where he was in charge of linebackers and helped the Tigers to the state playoffs. The season prior he served as linebackers coach at Northern Iowa, helping lead the Panthers to a 7-4 record in 2006.
Hall started his coaching career as a student assistant coach at Oklahoma from 1998-2000. He then worked three seasons as a graduate assistant with the Sooners, coaching linebackers. He joined the OU staff as a full-time defensive assistant for quality control in 2003 and served in that capacity for an additional three years.
During Hall’s tenure at Oklahoma, the Sooners won the 2000 national championship with a perfect 13-0 record and played in two additional national championship games. Oklahoma also posted a 78-14 record during Hall’s seven seasons at the school and claimed victories in the Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl, Holiday Bowl and Insight Bowl.
A native of Newcastle, Okla., Hall earned an associate’s degree from Oklahoma City Community College before going on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OU. Brandon and his wife Crystal have two daughters, Maddie and Charlee Kate, and one son, Will.
Â
