Seahawks Super Bowl hero Derick Hall opens up about how 'God' saved him from near-certain death

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall made his people connected NFL history erstwhile he came up pinch a tone-setting portion sack successful nan Super Bowl against nan New England Patriots this February.

There's a debased percent chance that immoderate shot subordinate will get a infinitesimal for illustration that successful his career. But Hall had to hit overmuch greater odds. Hall had a 1% chance of endurance erstwhile he was born 4 months premature astatine conscionable 23 weeks gestation, calved without a heartbeat and suffering from a encephalon bleed.

"I wasn’t born… breathing," he told Fox News Digital. "I was calved dead.

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Derick Hall of nan Seattle Seahawks portion sacks Drake Maye of nan New England Patriots during nan 3rd 4th of nan NFL Super Bowl LX astatine Levi's Stadium successful Santa Clara, Calif., connected Feb. 8, 2026. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

For his mother, Stacy Gooden-Crandle, those first days of her son's life were filled pinch uncertainty and fear.

"Emotional, a batch of uncertainty, scared," she said of her emotions successful nan days that followed her son's premature birth. "But… those weren’t nan feelings that I was emotion during Derrick’s birth. I conscionable trusted that God would activity everything out."

That belief became nan halfway of really nan family made consciousness of everything that followed.

"It is astir apt nan astir important point that we share," Gooden-Crandle said of their religion.

"We are group of religion and person been for astir of my lifetime. I joined religion erstwhile I was 16 years old, and I’ve conscionable grown up arsenic a female of faith. I’ve raised my children successful nan religion and instilled religion successful them and conscionable allowed them to flourish successful their religion successful their locomotion pinch Christ."

For Hall, increasing up wrong that situation gave meaning to struggles he didn’t yet understand.

"It was huge. It was astonishing because I ne'er really understood why maine aliases why my family had to spell done what I was going through," Hall said said.

Derick Hall of nan Seattle Seahawks watches from nan sideline during nan nationalist anthem earlier an NFL crippled against nan Atlanta Falcons astatine Mercedes-Benz Stadium successful Atlanta, Ga., connected Dec. 7, 2025. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

"My pastor ever told me, you weren’t dying for this, you are blessed to beryllium successful this position and God has thing greater for you, and I deliberation that helped maine beryllium astatine easiness pinch nan business and nan things that maine and my family were enduring during nan time.

"I ever speak to my religion because evidently I’m a occurrence child, and I don’t opportunity I’m doing good, I opportunity I’m blessed, I can’t complain, I’m supra crushed and I’m blessed... You can’t show maine that a kid pinch a 1 percent chance to unrecorded and not expected to beryllium walking, not expected to beryllium talking, not moreover expected to beryllium alive, ends up being a Super Bowl champion 1 time without nan Lord being successful their lives."

Even aft surviving infancy, nan challenges didn’t disappear, and his puerility looked very different from different kids.

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"My hardest clip play was from astir nan property of 4 aliases 5 to astir nan property of 12 aliases 13," Hall said. "I could spell retired and play, but it was only for astir 5 minutes astatine a clip and I would person to spell beryllium down for an hr conscionable to let my assemblage and my lungs to drawback backmost up, and to this time my lungs are still underdeveloped, they ever will be, they’ll ever beryllium 3 years behind."

Those limits extended into astir each portion of his life, including nan seasons erstwhile different kids were extracurricular playing freely.

But done it all, Hall discovered football, and his information wasn't going to support him from nan crippled that would specify his life.

Derick Hall of nan Seattle Seahawks holds nan Vince Lombardi trophy connected shape pinch his teammates aft winning Super Bowl LX against nan New England Patriots astatine Levi's Stadium successful Santa Clara, Calif., connected Feb. 8, 2026. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

"I started playing shot astatine nan property of 4 because I was trying to create my assemblage and get to nan constituent wherever I was capable to do things, and I fell successful emotion pinch it because it was nan first point that I was capable to do to make maine consciousness for illustration a normal kid," he said.

For his mom, that infinitesimal came pinch a difficult determination astir her son's wellbeing.

"It was difficult to make nan determination to let him to play, truthful I allowed him to play emblem shot successful nan beginning, but making that jump to let him to play tackle shot erstwhile we were still seeing a neurologist each six months for a encephalon bleed, it was a difficult decision," she said.

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"I made judge each nan coaches had asthma pumps and rescue inhalers, and I gave 1 to nan coaches, nan trainers, I kept one, to make judge if personification needed to get to him they had what he needed... And arsenic he progressed, I was getting much and much comfortable."

The religion successful letting him play shot paid disconnected erstwhile Hall received his first assemblage danasiwa connection erstwhile he was conscionable successful nan eighth grade, his mom said.

Hall went connected to beryllium a standout linebacker astatine Gulfport High School successful Mississippi, rising from a touted four-star imaginable to a ascendant All-SEC separator rusher astatine Auburn University.

But moreover aft coming each that measurement from his premature birth, he still had a infinitesimal wherever he feared for his life successful college.

"I had a scare successful assemblage wherever I went to believe that greeting and I wasn’t emotion that well, and nan adjacent time I sewage up to spell usage nan restroom and I couldn’t return for illustration 2 steps without gasping for air," Hall said. "We sewage to nan infirmary and nan expert said, we’re gladsome you brought him because if you would person waited different hr he astir apt would person been successful very bad shape."

It was a turning constituent successful really he approached his ain limits. But he didn't awkward distant from his passion arsenic a shot player, and remained committed to his faith.

Hall vanished his profession astatine Auburn pinch 147 tackles, 19.5 sacks and 29.5 tackles for nonaccomplishment successful 40 games. A highly touted recruit, Hall developed into a ascendant SEC starter, earning first-team All-SEC honors successful 2022 arsenic a squad captain, known for his elite power, speed, and precocious motor.

It earned him a chance to return his bonzer communicative to nan NFL arsenic he went connected to beryllium nan 37th prime successful nan 2023 NFL Draft.

But nan 2025 didn’t unfold nan measurement Derrick Hall expected, astatine slightest successful position of his individual stats astatine first. For overmuch of nan year, nan numbers didn’t lucifer nan effort. He was getting pressure, getting hits, doing nan activity that doesn’t ever show up successful headlines, but nan sacks weren’t coming.

"I was dependable getting hits… I’m getting pressures," Hall said. "But I can’t get nan sack… I’m like, Lord, immoderate you sewage planned, fto it uncover itself."

Statistically, that vexation was real. Hall vanished nan regular play pinch conscionable 2 sacks crossed 14 games, contributing much arsenic a rotational separator beingness than a header walk rusher. But wrong Seattle’s defense — a portion built connected balance, extent and accordant unit — his domiciled still mattered. The Seahawks leaned connected a corporate walk unreserved alternatively than 1 ascendant star, finishing nan play arsenic 1 of nan league’s much effective protect fronts.

And then, almost each astatine once, everything changed.

On nan biggest shape successful football, successful Super Bowl LX against nan Patriots, Hall delivered nan benignant of capacity that reshapes a career. He recorded 2 sacks and a forced fumble, including a portion sack that helped break nan crippled unfastened and group nan reside for Seattle’s 29–13 win. That azygous play — driving done nan violative line, knocking nan shot loose, and creating a turnover — became 1 of nan defining moments of nan game.

For Hall, it didn’t consciousness for illustration a coincidence. It felt for illustration timing.

"I sewage to that Super Bowl and I sewage some sacks, and I’m like, man, ain’t nary clip for illustration God’s time," he said. "That’s true, man."

In a play wherever he had spent months waiting for accumulation to lucifer effort, nan breakthrough came erstwhile it mattered most.

"Mentally it was reliable this year," he said. "But for illustration I said, it’s a blessing."

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After nan game, nan numbers told 1 story: 2 sacks, a forced fumble, a championship. But for Hall, nan meaning ran deeper, tied backmost to thing acold bigger than a stat sheet.

"You can’t show maine that a kid pinch a 1 percent chance to live… ends up being a Super Bowl champion 1 time without nan Lord being successful their lives," he said. "That’s a occurrence successful itself."

Now, Hall and his mother are tying that communicative backmost to wherever it began — nan neonatal intensive attraction portion — done a business pinch Huggies and its "Natural Born Fighters" campaign, which highlights premature babies and nan attraction they person successful those earliest, astir vulnerable days. The run focuses connected supporting NICU infants pinch products designed alongside nurses and doctors to meet their circumstantial needs.

For Stacy, nan business is rooted successful memories that she still holds close.

"Both of my children really wore Huggies," she said. "And I really had 1 of their very first diapers… but now you gotta think, that’s 25 years ago, deliberation astir each nan designs that they’ve done now… moving pinch nan NICU nurses and doctors to create a diaper specifically for NICU babies, that to maine states nan champion conflict that you could ever want to person for a marque that wants to make judge that NICU babies person nan champion opportunities astatine nan very opening of their fight."

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