Ferriday — It is true that hard work and discipline can take an athlete to greater heights, and Ferriday High School’s Karl Hall is the epitome of the former and latter.

Hall is in his senior year as a Trojan, but after three years of developing himself as an elite linebacker, head coach Cleothis Cummings had even bigger plans for Hall.

Cummings said it all started when Hall was on his track team in 2011 when he realized how different Hall was from most athletes.

“He was our district 400-meter champion,” Cummings said. “Right then I knew he would be an important player for us because he focuses a lot on getting his teammates better.”

Cummings said it was a no-brainer to put Hall on both sides of the ball as a running back.

“We just wanted to be able to utilize him,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to have a kid with that type of talent not be able to help you on the offensive side. He’s a really important factor to our offense.”

Hall said he was a little nervous about his new position when Cummings made the announcement in the summer, and he knew it would take some adjusting.

“I had to get adjusted to it because I wasn’t used to playing offense, but I‘m getting better at it,” Hall said. “Everything that I’m not used to, the coaches put me on this year. I don’t complain about it because it’s for the team. I’m all in it for my team.”

Cummings said he knew Hall was the type of team player that would step into any role given and work hard to win.

“We were looking for that special type of guy that can tackle, that can run and can catch,” Cummings said. “And we ask him to do it all expect throw the ball. That’s one of the qualities that he has.

“There’s no complaining, if we need him to play offensive line, he would say ‘yes sir.’

“He’s one of those kids that you look at and you appreciate the work he puts in.”

Hall said there’s a different type of atmosphere that surrounds him when he carries the ball even though it’s the same game as when he’s doing the tackling.

“The hardest part when you’re on the field is things are different with the crowd noises,” he said. “When I first got out there, I was kind of scared, but I got used to it and to the contact from the defense.”

But four games in, Hall said he is well acclimated with his offensive duties as he had a break out game against Vidalia High School tallying 82 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries.

And Hall said he looks forward to continuing the rest of the season as an instrumental part of not only the offense and defense, but as a reliable leader that Cummings can depend on.

“(Cummings) expects me to be a leader, so I have to be on my younger teammates and try to help them get better,” Hall said. “I know they think I’m being hard on them, but they’ll learn when they become a senior what I was teaching them.”

Cummings said he plans to get Hall more touches on offense as the season progresses with their next game being against West St. Mary High School Friday.

“We want to get him a little more involved with the offense,” Cummings said. “When we played Vidalia, he had more than 120 returning yards, so that just added to his game. He shows the ability that he can return the ball and he shows every Friday that he can tackle.”

Hall said he plans to attend Southern University on a football scholarship next fall and major in kinesiology.