Special teams coordinator Mike Stock has seen a player like Korey Hall before.
Hall, a linebacker from Boise State, was selected by the Packers with the first of their three consecutive sixth-round picks on Sunday, the 191st overall selection.
The Packers are looking to convert Hall from linebacker to fullback and see what he can bring to special teams, much like Stock did as a coach with the Washington Redskins earlier this decade with another linebacker from Boise State named Brian Johnson.
"He was undersized as a linebacker, a fast runner, and we made him a fullback," said Stock, who coached special teams with the Redskins from 2001-03. "He was the same size and almost the same build, and hopefully the same make. That's what our idea will be with Korey Hall."
Hall was an impressive linebacker in his own right, earning second-team All-America honors from the Sporting News and Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the year honors. He recorded 105 tackles as a senior, one shy of the career high from his junior season, and six interceptions to give him 11 picks in his career.
Despite the noteworthy statistics, though, Hall is prepared to take a crack at a new position and see where his pro career leads. He worked out as both a linebacker and fullback at his pro day in Boise.
At 6-foot-1 and 236 pounds, he may have been viewed as too small to be an every-down linebacker in the NFL, and he may be asked to bulk up a bit to play fullback, a position he last played in high school.
"I'm fine with that," Hall said of the position switch. "Any way that I can get on the field and get some playing time and make a team, that's good with me. Whether that's defense, offense or special teams, I'll play wherever."
Ultimately, Hall's biggest contributions may come on special teams. He played on all four special teams units (punt coverage and return, kickoff coverage and return) pretty much his entire college career.
"I feel like the strength of my game defensively is as a physical player," Hall said. "I play hard between the whistles, and it's the same thing on special teams. A lot of playing special teams is being mentally tough, and I think I am as a special teams player."
Stock sees some of those intangibles as well.
"He's a very good tackler, a head hunter," Stock said. "A good blocker in the open field, a great motor, a big heart for the game."
