Bowie State University junior quarterback Amir Hall recently took home the Deacon Jones Award as the Black College Football Player of the Year at the 2018 Black College Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Atlanta on Feb. 10 for his stellar performance during the 2017-2018 college football campaign.
The award recognizes the most outstanding football player from a historically Black college and university (HBCU) that embodies the rich tradition of athletic excellence and integrity associated with HBCUs.
Hall led the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in passing yardage (3,519), yards per game (319.9), touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (65.4%) last season.
“This was an outstanding group of finalists this year,” said former NFL quarterback and executive James “Shack” Harris. “Amir had one of the most prolific seasons for a quarterback in CIAA history, and we congratulate him on winning this prestigious award.”
The six-foot-four quarterback, nicknamed by his peers as “Showtime,” wasn’t afraid of the spotlight when he took over the starting quarterback position over Nyema Washington during the 2016-2017 regular season when Washington went down with a knee injury during training camp.
As a sophomore, Hall rose to the occasion by leading his team to the CIAA championship game that year and was named to the All-CIAA First Team while also being named the CIAA Offensive Player of the Year and Bowie State Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.
Hall played high school ball at Riverdale Baptist School (Upper Marlboro, Md.), where he garnered interest from the Bulldogs coaching staff before blossoming into the team’s all-time leader in passing yards, touchdowns and passing efficiency in just two seasons of play.
He led Bowie State to a 9-2 regular season mark and a playoff berth into the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Hall is the second recipient of the award, joining Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen (North Carolina A&T State University), who won the inaugural honor in 2016 and was selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
The future is bright for the budding star and Bowie native.
“I’ve been loving this offense since my freshman year, and I feel very comfortable,” Hall said about playing in the Bulldogs system. “It prepares us for the next level. I expected to have that performance because I had a great offensive line and a great group of receivers to work with.”