SSU starts spring drills down one

Offensive coordinator Alan Hall accepts post at Winston-Salem State

Savannah State's football team began spring practice Tuesday without an offensive coordinator. Alan Hall resigned Monday after one season to take the same position at Winston-Salem (N.C.) State, a historically black college and member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. "It's tough when you get close to your kids, but that's the business side of it," Hall said Tuesday night via cell phone as he drove to Winston-Salem, N.C. "It's a move I felt I needed to make, professionally. I'm looking to be a head coach, and I need to put myself in a position to make that happen.

"(WSSU) is where Savannah State is working to be at in the coming years. (WSSU) is in its infancy in the MEAC, but they're a larger school with twice as many students, so they've got a larger revenue stream." Hall, who turned 36 last Tuesday, also served as SSU's quarterbacks coach. He came to SSU from East Mississippi Community College, where he served as offensive coordinator for two years.

WSSU offensive coordinator, Alan Hall

"Your window in coaching doesn't stay open very long," said Hall, a member of the Miami Hurricanes' 1991 national championship team and a backup to Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Gino Torretta. "It was a tough decision. I got the call (from WSSU) Sunday night. It was so close to the start of spring (practice) that I felt bad about the timing. But you don't get that call very often, and it was the time to strike."

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