Anthony Hall - Big UHall to his teammates - will be working with Bill Belichick in just a couple of years. But its his dedication and hard work that make him BZ's MVP.

A legacy of football

The junior at Dexter Southfield in Brookline has made a name for himself as one of the top football prospects in his class coming out of the Commonwealth.

"My main goal is to be the No. 1 prospect in New England," Hall said.

But all that success didn't happen overnight. In fact, Hall has been following his morning routine since sixth grade when his older brothers invited him to train with them.

"I'm up at 4:30. Workout for a good hour-and-a-half, two hours. Shower, school, workout for Dexter. And just repeat," Hall said.

Hall still remembers that first day of training with his brothers. "I was up on the couch waiting for them to wake up. I was the first one up, was like 'Oh, I can't wait for my first day.' And then when the day came, it was like 30 degrees outside. Thirty degrees - he said 'bring a sweater and a jacket.' I said 'Oh, boy.'"

Hall was born in Boston and raised in a football family in Randolph. All three of his older brothers played for UMass Dartmouth. 

Hall initially lined up as a running back and a defensive tackle. But by the time he transferred to Brookline's Dexter-Southfield in his sophomore year, he stood at 6'4" and weighed 315 pounds. He made the transition to guard and defensive tackle.

"As a high school football player, I mean, you can't keep a talent like that off the field, ideally," said Casey Day, Dexter Southfield's head football coach.

Meeting Bill Belichick

A video Hall put together attracted scholarship offers from across the country, including the new University of North Carolina Coach Bill Belichick.

"When you actually meet him in person. - and just, like, sit and talk to him - he's a very welcoming, calm guy and he's ready to work," Hall said.

"Coach Belichick came in and he kinda, he laid it out, you know, how you think he probably would, that really, you know, he wants to set up a program that's verysimilar to what he did in the NFL; prepare kids for the NFL," Day said.

Belichick invited Hall to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the two went over the game together.

We were watching my tape and then we also were watching the Pats tape. I forgot what year it was - I think it was 2005ish or back then - and he was comparing me to other linemen. He was saying "One day this will be you."

So, when he graduates, Hall will be heading to North Carolina.  

And when his playing days are over, Hall has another career picked out: Protecting his community as a firefighter.