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Whew!
30-24 ... Hall Breaks Record At Homecoming
DJ Hall caught three passes for 19 yards and narrowly missed an incredible,
diving one-handed grab as Alabama beat Houston 30-24.
Hall also passed Freddie Milons as Alabama's all time leader for catches.
These post game comments came as
Press Pool ... I think there were three chances for you to get the record, at some point are you saying "Is this going to happen or not?"
DJ Hall ... No, I didn't find out about the record until later on. But that ain't never a problem. I ain't worried about it for the record.
Is there another one that you kind of have in your sights now?
I don't even know. I have not a clue what's left.
You guys said you wanted a win ... you got a win, but is it how you envisioned it happening?
We're just glad to be back on track. A win is a win, we'll take it however it comes. We didn't play as well as we should have in the second half, but it feels good to be back on the winning track.
Coach Saban kind of touched on it ... he said there's been a couple of games where you had big leads only to blow it ... and this is a team that everyone says is searching for an identity ... is that your identity right now, a team that gives up big plays in the second half and blows big leads?
No ... I'm not going to say we get comfortable, but ... it's kind of hard to say because I know we still play hard even when we're up. When the other team comes back it may not seem that way, but we play hard all 60 minutes. We've just got to do a better job of putting the nail in the coffin.
How do you guys do that? How do you get over the hump?
That's where the leaders come in. They're telling guys, "Don't worry about the score." We've got to do a better job of finishing out the whole 60 minutes.
I think somebody else asked you too ... but the record took a while ... you thought you had it; then it was a flag; thought you had it again-but didn't quite get it; then it finally took you to like the third quarter. Kind of a long time to wait huh?
I wasn't waiting for it in the first place. That's something ya'll can worry about. I'm not worried about the records. If they come, they come. If I get them, then I blessed for it. But I'm more worried about winning and doing things the right way on the field. It's a blessing having the record though.
DJ, what can you tell us about that long pass that was overruled down the middle ... what was the call on that? It looked like you had your arm under it, did you think you had it?
Yeah, I thought I had it. I guess when I dove out for it and had it in two hands it might have scraped the ground, but I thought I had it. I don't know I guess they saw something different.
Can you talk about breaking the record?
Like I said, it's a blessing to have this opportunity especially at this great university. I'm just blessed to have it.
Are you more proud of breaking the catch record or the yardage record that you got earlier this year?
(laughs) I'm more proud that we got the WIN today! But .. I don't know ... being the all-time leading receiver, that the big one I guess.
Ole Miss is coming up next week, talk about that game.
It's always going to be a battle when Alabama plays Ole Miss. That's definitely going to be a 60-minute game. We just have to practice hard this week and be ready to play on Saturday.
Offensively, you guys have been on the field late in games this season ... what's it like to have to watch the defense try to hold on. Is that a pretty helpless feeling?
We have great confidence in the defense, the whole staff and what they do to go out and execute and stop the other team. They did that today.
It seemed like a lot of time today it was run-run-run ... Is that frustrating not to be able to get out there and catch some passes?
No ... whatever works, whatever keeps us on the field, whatever has the offense getting a spark, we want to do it. If that's running, then we want to run the ball, which we did a great job of today. The coach, man ... we let them coach and we just play.
The offense got 200 yards in the first quarter ... the rest of the game wasn't as good. Did you feel the offense go into a malaise a little bit?
I think we were more anxious and more excited to get back on the field. We wanted to put on a scoring drive. A few time we had opportunities to do that and we didn't. One drive we did. But that was a great team we played. They just played all-around great defense and offense.
Was there anything special Houston was doing on defense like stacking the box?
They didn't do anything different really. They played a few coverages that were different, but everything we saw, they did it. They put a lot of guys in the box, but we were still able to run the ball successfully.
What's it like to have the record for catches?
Blessed, that's the only word to describe that.
Now that you have the marks for most receiving yardage and most catches, where do you rank yourself among the all time greats at Alabama?
I don't know. I leave that for other people to think about. I don't judge myself. I just go out and try to play hard every time.
DJ, could you talk about the record again?
It's just a blessing man that I had the opportunity to go out and accomplish such a great thing. A lot of guys say they want to be the best receiver that Alabama ever had, but I'm blessed enough to really be able to say it.
You guys started out fast, but faded. Coach talked about having to play for a full 60-minutes ... why is it so tough to keep you intensity up for the whole game?
I don't know. It's tough, especially when we get those big leads like we have. I'm not going to say that guys get laid back, but ... it's hard to say because I know we still played hard. It's just that we don't execute the plays to their full potential like we should. That's where leadership comes in. We got guys telling us "We've GOT to get a first down and get some points on the board" and that's what we did.
I know it wasn't a SEC team, but getting a win like this, does it still help you confidence?
Every win we get is good to get because wins are hard to come by. That was a great team we played. They played good all around and fought to the end. But any kind of win we get, we'll take it.
Why do you think people are so interested in the record. I heard seven or eight questions about the record ... over and over and over ... you seem less interested in talking about it than the media does. Why do think there's so much interest?
Because Alabama has such great tradition. So many great players have come through here and it's just such a big part of the University. People just want to be involved in it. That's pretty much all I can say about it.
But you have to be at least a little interested in the records ...
I can't really say that ... I mean, it's hard to say. I'm not going to say I'm not interested in the record. I'm glad I have it and I'm blessed. But at the moment, I'm more interested in how we play, did we do everything right, did we win, things we could have done to win ... you know, things like that. I'll think about it afterwards, but during it's kind of hard to.
Can I ask you about your tattoos (on his hands and wrists)?
Well, the first one (right hand) is "805 Boys" ... Fort Walton Beach, that's our area code in the panhandle. I've got F-W-B (on the left hand) for "Fort Walton Beach". I've got L-J for where I was raised on LoveJoy. So that's pretty much it.
also read post game interview transcripts from ...
Nick Saban (Head Coach)
DJ Hall (#22 WR Sr. 6'-2" 195 lbs. 3VL ... Choctawhatchee High School, Ft. Walton Beach FL)
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© 2007 MuseCo Publishing