Fitch’s Hall unfazed by injury, coaching change

February 5, 2015 at 12:04a.m.

AUSTINTOWN

It’s funny how things work out sometimes.

Austintown Fitch running back Darrin Hall suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee on Sept. 26.

Nineteen weeks later, he walked over to a table set up inside his high school, sat down, and signed his national letter of intent with the University of Pittsburgh.

It’s been a long and bumpy road for the state’s second-ranked running back in this year’s class. However the future is bright not only for Hall, but also for the Panthers.

“It was very hard for me to sit on the sidelines for the remaining half of the season,” Hall said Wednesday morning, sporting a blue and gold Pitt shirt.

“But really it was the doctors and [Falcons] Coach [Phil] Annarella telling me I still have a future, so don’t just quit now. Rehab hard and get after it at the next level.”

Hall gave the Panthers a verbal commitment under the previous coaching staff that has since been replaced by Ursuline graduate Pat Narduzzi and his assistant coaches.

Narduzzi, the former Michigan State defensive coordinator, had been recruiting the 4-star running back for quite some time before the Spartans picked up Hubbard’s L.J. Scott to solidify their class.

That’s when Hall decided his best landing spot was with the Panthers. Little did Narduzzi or Hall know they’d be back together again.

“I have a stronger connection with Coach Narduzzi than I had with Coach Chryst, because he recruited me for four years,” said Hall, whose uncle, Keith Hall, played with Narduzzi at Ursuline. “So that was a big plus.”

Hall (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) began his rehabilitation two weeks after surgery. Now he’s building the strength back in his leg and “getting that explosiveness back.”

He credited Annarella for continuing to push him even though they both knew he wouldn’t play another down for the Falcons.

“That’s the thing about him,” Annarella said of Hall.

“He’s got such great character, such great worth ethic. He’s a realist. He knew what had happened, he knew he couldn’t play anymore and he set his sights on the next step, which of course was college.

“I know that Pitt’s getting a real good one there.”

Hall’s teammate at Fitch, Antwan Harris, also made his decision official, signing with Lake Erie College. He’ll have an opportunity to play quarterback, running a similar offense as he did this year with the Falcons.

“It can be a good place for me, because they do some of the same stuff we do here at Fitch,” Harris said. “It wouldn’t be hard to adapt to that school and I took that into consideration, because that’s a big help.”

AROUND THE VALLEY

A couple of kids enrolled early to get a jump start on their college football careers. Offensive lineman James Daniels of Warren Harding is preparing for the spring semester at the University of Iowa, while linebacker Jordan Jones of Cardinal Mooney is already in Lexington at the University of Kentucky.

Joining Jones in the fall will be defensive tackle Javon Provitt of Harding. He signed with the Wildcats on Wednesday.

Ursuline coach Larry Kempe will have his first Ivy League player as quarterback Vito Penza made his commitment to Dartmouth official. Linebacker Evan Croutch of Boardman also signed with Ohio University to round out the Valley’s FBS commitments.