Jeff Hall: The Secret to Victory

“I made this deal with God when I was 10 or 11 years old,” Jeff Hall says. “I said, ‘God, if you will ever put me in a place where people will ask me to come and talk about you, I promise I will do it.’ I can still remember looking at the Tennessee banners and posters all over my room and saying that prayer.”

From childhood, Jeff’s dream was to be a kicker for the University of Tennessee's Volunteers.

Not only did Jeff’s dream become a reality, but Jeff made his mark in UT history.

He was the Southeastern Conference all-time leading scorer and a team captain of the 1998 National Champion Team. Jeff was one of UT’s solid, star athletes who kicked game-winning points in major conference and championship games.

But, as promised, he didn’t just make his mark on the field.

“He was always there to stand up in front of the team,” says University of Tennessee Coach Gary Fulmer. “He wore his faith on his sleeve, and he was out there to represent the good Lord in the right way. It was much more Jeff Hall the person, and Jeff Hall the Christian leader that made a difference in all of us.

After college Jeff had nothing but opportunities in front of him.

“I had accomplished everything that I had set out to do, in terms of rewards and recognition,” Jeff says. “I guess even in ministry. But when I left UT I had a lot of pride. I had athletic pride, spiritual pride, and financial pride.”

Jeff was drafted by the Washington Redskins as a sixth-round draft pick. But Jeff’s life began to change dramatically.

“That summer with the Redskins, I had one of those times in my life where it was awful,” Jeff recalls. “I couldn’t make a kick if my life depended on it. I couldn’t have kicked a football from the beach into the ocean during training camp with the Redskins.”

Jeff was cut from the team. He tried to save his pro-football career by playing for the Rams, the XFL, and the New Orleans Saints.

“After two years of traveling here, and traveling there, struggling through this and struggling through getting cut, and having my back lock up before I went to New Orleans, I got cut.”

That same year, Jeff lost all of his money in the stock market.

“So I ended up in this little 400-square-feet apartment, with no money, with a car I had just bought on which I couldn’t afford the payments, with all my investments gone, hating where I was in life, and not knowing where I was going to be.”

To top it off, Jeff’s fiancée ended their engagement.

“I was miserable,” Jeff says, “and I can remember my fiancée saying, ‘Jeff, I can’t get married like this.’ Then she walked out, and it was like I was losing everything I had wanted. I came back to Knoxville the most defeated, dejected, depressed person ever.”

Even during the most challenging season of his life Jeff knew where to turn.

“I never stopped reading my Bible,” he says. “I never stopped going to church, and it was a time that I knew God was going to get me through.”

Jeff said God dealt with him on the issues of pride.

“I felt so ashamed because people would come up to me and say, ‘Jeff, why aren’t you playing football?’ I would feel dejected and defeated because I wasn’t doing what everyone wanted me to do.”

“Then God gradually began working on my heart. It was like one thing after another, things He started removing from my life, and changing my attitude towards things,” Jeff says.

Jeff walked away from football and re-dedicated his career in finance to the Lord. Today he works as a Christian financial planner.

“It was like God was giving me a second chance,” he says.

Jeff shares that faith in Christ is the key to scoring a victorious life.

“You may not know every right thing to do with regards to relationships, money, or how to pray or read your Bible, but if you are doing those things and seeking God, then He will reveal to you what truth is,” Jeff says. “Keep your knees on the ground and your nose in the Word. That is all you can do.”