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most thorough rebuilding project to over- see, and not by a little. That said, it's a situation he could have avoided had he wanted to. Considered a head coaching prospect in his own right, Hand had interviewed for the Vanderbilt job following Franklin's departure. Even a:er the school chose Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Ma- son instead, Hand was o9ered a position on the new sta9, and he gave it some se- rious thought. "I'm a relationship guy," he said, "and I had great relationships in Nashville." It was understandable that the Com- modores would want to retain him. Not only did he bond well with players at the school – that's him doing "the worm" in the video of an impromptu dance-o9 competition during a team meeting in 2012 – he also helped shape Vanderbilt's running game into one that was capable of producing yards and points in the na- tion's best football conference. Zac Stacey rushed for a school-record 3,143 yards and 30 touchdowns with Hand's o9ensive line leading the way. And last season, the Commodores scored 34 rushing touch- downs, third-most in the Southeastern Conference. But Franklin's o9er to join the Nittany Lions' new sta9 as o9ensive line coach and run game coordinator – he held the latter title in his 8nal season at Vanderbilt – was still on the table a:er Mason got the Commodores' head coaching job, and Hand decided to leave for University Park. "When James initially approached me about coming to Penn State, there was a huge amount of excitement, because it's Penn State," he said. "Most of the places that I've worked at, I've had to do more with less, and that's not a knock on any- where, but this is a more-with-more place. This place is about having the opportunity to do more with more, and that's excit- ing." The Nittany Lions will need some ad- ditional manpower before they can start thinking about doing more with more; they did recruit four o9ensive tackles in their 2014 class, including the 6-7, 321- pound Wright, who enrolled in January. S P R I N G F O O T B A L L R E P O R T A MAN ON THE MOVE Versatile walk-on Albert Hall earns kudos | A s James Franklin's 8rst news con- ference of the spring began to wind down, a reporter took the opportunity to ask something open-ended. Although the March 17 presser had been dominated by questions about speci8c players and expectations, in the 8nal question of the day, Franklin was asked about particular position bat- tles he might be most looking forward to seeing this spring. Citing concerns about depth, Franklin said he was looking forward to seeing guys who perhaps hadn't played key roles in the past but were about to be given an opportunity to step forward. Seemingly 8nished with his response, Franklin looked down at his notes mo- mentarily and perked up when he saw a name that hadn't come up in the previous 30 minutes. "There is a guy I'd like to mention who I love and have been unbelievably impressed with," Franklin said. "That's Albert Hall. He's a young man who was a tight end that we moved to o9ensive line, and he works so hard and has such a great attitude. "That guy is going to 8nd a role on this team somehow. I've called him out in front of the team a number of times because I've been so impressed with him: his approach, his demeanor, his attitude." Safe to say, Hall hadn't been on the radar of any reporter in the room before Franklin's comments. A redshirt sophomore walk-on from Warwick, N.Y., Hall has spent the past two seasons moving around the field. He started out as a defensive end during his true freshman season before moving to tight end last year when Matt Lehman suffered a career-ending knee injury in the Nittany Lions' opener against Syracuse. Switching over to offensive tackle this spring – at all of 6-foot-4, 266 pounds – the Warwick Valley High School graduate has dis- played the ability to step in wherever he's needed. Those who know him best aren't sur- prised that Hall has turned heads at Penn State with his versatility. Truth is, he's been doing it for years. "If we go way back, he actually played o9ensive center for me when he was a freshman and a sophomore," Warwick coach James Sciarra said. "When I brought him up to varsity, he played some defensive end and then he played tight end for me, but mainly I didn't play with a tight end because we were in the spread. So he was split out. He was more of a wideout." It was in that role that Hall blossomed. Prior to his senior year, Hall attended a seven-on-seven camp in Virginia run by Mel Kiper Jr. and dominated com- petition from all over. "It actually just turned into the Hall show. He was probably one of the best players on the 8eld, but he didn't know it," Sciarra said. "He just kind of went out there and did his thing." He did it so well that Kiper pulled him aside to 8nd out about his college plans. "So, how many o9ers do you have?" the NFL Dra: guru asked. "I don't have any," Hall said. Kiper was stunned, Sciarra recalled. "Mel looked at him like, 'Wait a minute, you're almost 6-foot-5, you're 230 pounds and you can run. You're athletic. Give me your number and I'll try to help you out a little bit.'" Hall was considering Towson and some other Football Championship Subdivision programs when John Strollo, Penn State's tight ends coach at the time, contacted Sciarra shortly a:er signing day in February 2012 with an intrigu- ing o9er. "He asked if Albert had signed anywhere," Sciarra said. As it happened, Hall hadn't signed, and when Strollo invited him to pay a visit to University Park, it was the beginning of a recruitment process that ultimately ended with Hall joining the wave of "run- on" prospects who would go on to help bolster the program just as the NCAA sanctions were starting to take e9ect. "I'm not saying that everything that happened down there was good, but be- cause of everything, he ended up with an opportunity," Sciarra said. "If every- thing doesn't happen down there, the lack of scholarship opportunities and things like that, you don't need that many walk-ons, and he doesn't get that opportunity now." By all accounts, Hall has taken full advantage of the chance he's been given. Since arriving at Penn State, he has displayed the attributes that lead to success: an all-business attitude and a commitment to give everything he's got in the weight room and on the prac- tice field. Franklin said Hall's approach can serve as an example to the rest of the team. "A lot of us can learn from a guy like that who wakes up every single morning and makes the most of it," he said. "So I've been very pleased with him, and guys like him are what I'm talking about. Maybe by the end of spring he's got a more signi8cant role. We need a number of guys to do that." ■ MULTI-TALENTED Only a sopho- more, Hall has al- ready played de- fensive end, tight end and offensive tackle for the Nit- tany Lions Tim Owen

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