Meet Bonner’s Jalil Hall, a junior receiver with a penchant for making acrobatic catches

Sometimes a player is just so special that everyone in attendance can know what’s coming and the opponent still can’t stop him.

Such is often the case with Bonner-Prendergast junior receiver Jalil Hall, who, at 6-foot-4 with long arms and spring to spare, has made a habit of the spectacular.

Last year, Hall authored an outrageous leaping catch against rival Conwell-Egan. This season, the 16-year-old took his show on the road with an impressive catch, dive, and score in Ireland.

Colleges such as Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Syracuse have already taken notice.

“Obviously the sky is the limit,” Bonner-Prendie coach Jack Muldoon said after a recent practice, “but he’s already well on his way to reaching those heights.”

At 6 p.m. Friday, Hall and the top-seeded Friars from District 12 hope to dazzle once more against District 2 top dog Dallas in PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal play.

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If Hall’s in-game exploits have become the norm, perhaps that’s only because the Friars begin each practice with some sort of aerial display.

Muldoon calls it a “TD drill.”

Basically, Hall and a defensive back line up on the outside, just outside the 10-yard line. The route is a fade, and the result is almost always the same.

“Guys are always trying to challenge him on that,” Muldoon said. “If anybody ever wins that battle, it makes their day, but it rarely happens.”

“The thing I always liked about Jalil,” Muldoon added, “he takes it personally. He doesn’t want anybody taking that ball away from him.”

In fact, it happens so infrequently that the Friars use the possibility as a way to energize practice.

“Everybody knows it’s coming, and I feel like everybody’s holding their breath to see what’s going to happen,” Hall said after a recent practice. “It’s funny, if I catch it, we all celebrate as an offense. It’s the same for the defense, if the DB breaks it up. It’s just a good way to start practice with a lot of energy.”

It’s also a good way to score points in games. To that end, Muldoon says it has become an unofficial “rule” within the program.

When the Friars get into the red zone, Hall gets at least one ball thrown his way in the end zone.

It started a few years ago, Muldoon said, with James Welde, who now is a tight end at Villanova.

Now, the honor, and perhaps the responsibility, belongs to Hall.

“I feel like our coaches preach it a lot,” Hall said. “If the ball is in the air … we have to come out on top. We have to be the better player no matter what you have to do.”

Hall burst on the varsity scene last year doing just that, finishing the season with a single-season school record for touchdowns with 15, according to Muldoon.

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This year, Hall also has added leadership skills to his resumé. Muldoon said Hall has been instrumental in the development of the Friars’ two freshman quarterbacks, Kenjai Gatling and Noel Campbell.

It certainly helps that Hall, his coach said, is perhaps the smartest player on the team.

Hall is said to be adept at diagnosing defenses and knows where everyone should be during each play. Muldoon believes Hall’s combination of size, athleticism, intelligence, and excellent grades will make his recruiting soar in the near future.

If those attributes aren’t enough, Hall also is a stellar defensive end.

In fact, league coaches named Hall a first-team all-Catholic selection as a receiver and a lineman, though he considers himself “a receiver at heart.” Hall’s teammate, Penn State-bound lineman Mylachi Williams was named Catholic League Blue Division MVP.

But, if the Friars are on offense and the game is on the line, rest assured Hall will see the ball, whether the opponent expects it or not.

The only question is if he makes the catch. Bet against him at your own risk.

“I just have the mindset that I have to get it,” Hall said. “That it has to be mine. I just feel like everybody is depending on me to make the big play.”