No. 21 Iowa football cornerback TJ Hall returns to home state in matchup against No. 17 USC

IOWA CITY — TJ Hall didn’t even know about Iowa football when he first started playing the game.

The now-senior Hawkeye cornerback grew up in Fresno, Calif. He’d spent years watching USC and UCLA football, living just a few hours north of Los Angeles. The Trojans and Bruins were the college football teams of the state, along with a handful other programs a little closer to him.

Hall finally started learning about Iowa football when he was heading into his senior year of high school, digging into the program more once he started getting recruited by defensive coordinator Phil Parker and general manager Tyler Barnes.

“I joke around with some of my teammates, like, I don't remember learning about Iowa going through elementary when I feel like you learned a little something about all 50 states,” Hall said, laughing. “As I got older, you just see them on TV, and might not have recognized them first, and then you realize, ‘OK, that's the Iowa Hawkeye.’”

Now, in his senior year, Hall makes a return to California. It’s not his first trip to the Golden State since becoming a Hawkeye, but it’ll be his first as a starter.

“I can't wait going home, going back to Cali,” he said. “It's gonna be fun.”

Hall earned a starting role at cornerback after years working his way up the depth chart. After a productive spring football session, he gained the confidence to step into a secondary filled with newer faces.

This year, Hall’s recorded 35 tackles, eight pass breakups and an interception. He’s one of eight Hawkeyes to record a pick this season.

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With a quick visit home like the upcoming trip on Saturday, Hall has plethora of family itching to see him play. Typically, he has some relatives make the trip to Iowa City every year, but there’s still a number of family and friends who’ve never seen Hall play for the Hawkeyes in person.

It’s almost overwhelming, Hall said, but he’s embraced it knowing how many people will be supporting him Saturday afternoon.

“I got family coming from Fresno, family that's already in LA,” Hall said. “So yeah, it's gonna be a pretty much big family reunion after the game.”

Hall was a four-year letterman at San Jaoquin Memorial in high school, playing defensive back, wide receiver, quarterback and a punt returner. His recruitment process with Iowa began heading into his senior year, where his first visit he watched the Hawkeyes take down then-No. 4 Penn State in 2021 — and witnessed the field storming at Kinnick Stadium after, too.

He’s played all four years at Iowa, making his first collegiate start as a junior. He’s already surpassed his previous career-highs this year, and taken a leadership role on the team, too.

“It's cool to have a bunch of family members there,” quarterback Mark Gronowski said. “I know he's been asking everybody for tickets this week, but it's always a cool opportunity, because they get the show out for their family and all the people that aren't able to make it out for all the other games.”

Hall said he’s anticipating roughly 30 family members attending Saturday’s matchup against the Trojans, and that he’s been trying to help secure extra tickets, too.

“I'm sure he'll have people from his background, his high school, and just his youth coming to the game as well, so it's exciting for him,” Ferentz said. “It has to be a little bit special for him.”

Hall has seen California since moving to the Midwest, but this one has a little more weight to it. He wants to help show what he’s done since joining the Hawkeyes, and why it was the right fit for his collegiate career.

And, most importantly, he wants to make his family proud.

“I just want to just represent my last name, and my family, and everybody who's been along with me along this journey,” Hall said. “So that's going to be awesome.”

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