Ben Goldschmidt

bgoldschmidt@enquirer.com

You've heard the perhaps-exaggerated story that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team before becoming an NBA legend.

But you never hear about Leon Hall, who made the "B team" in freshmen football, then went on to be one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.

"I played my freshmen year of football, but I wasn't very good," Hall said, half laughing. "I made the B team, is what we called it. It was like, they can't cut anybody, so they make a B team and you play after the game is over."

Okay, Jordan and Hall aren't quite the same. Jordan is a legend, but Hall is really darn good and the two stories are almost identical. And that story is just one of many examples of Hall's resiliency -- a word that surrounds the Bengals' narrative right now.

"Is this team right now defined more by its resiliency or its inconsistency?" Paul Daugherty asked Hall on our Bengals show, "Beyond the Stripes."

"Resiliency."

Doc knew Hall would say that, but why?

"Going into the Cleveland week we felt really good about the game plan, our matchups against theirs, and you know, it didn't work out," Hall said. "And to go into the next week and play as well as we did, and come out with a victory, it was a great feeling. But it kind of just shows that we're able to take a punch in the mouth. And you need that."

You do need that. And Hall has it.

If the Bengals really are resilient, then Hall is the personification of that quality. Suffering a season-ending Achilles injury, recovering, getting back to full strength and not losing his starting job to first-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick. Suffering another season-ending Achilles injury this year, recovering, getting back to full strength and not losing his starting job to first-round pick Darqueze Dennard.

That's resiliency. So, where's my motivational poster with Hall's face on it?

Five fun facts about Leon Hall

His full name is Leon Lastarza Lafayette Lorenzo Hall.

That name takes up two lines on his driver's license.

Although he played for Michigan, he didn't "care about (the OSU rivalry) as people would've liked me to."

Hall once did a photo shoot for a fashion magazine, but it didn't work out. "I'm a little uncomfortable behind the camera sometimes, and they ask you to do these awkward positions."

The last time he had hair was in 2007.

Grading the Hot Seat: B+

"What in your mind is a fashion faux pas?" Doc asked Hall.

"Pink shirt with a blue scarf."

That one exchange pretty much sums it up.

Up next: Ryan Hewitt

You know that growler you bought, but have only filled up twice since? It's time to remedy that situation.

Tuesday, 7 p.m., Moerlein Lager House. This is an invitation to come, have a beer, fill your growler, watch the show (for free) and celebrate/wallow in a Bengals victory/loss with your fellow fans. Oh, and get an autograph.