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Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall has been raving about Robert Griffin III since even before Washington drafted him, and Hall now says that after seeing Griffin up close, he believes even more strongly in the Redskins’ rookie quarterback.

Hall said in an interview on 980 ESPN in Washington, D.C. that having played with Michael Vick in Atlanta before playing with Griffin in Washington, he sees Griffin as far ahead of where Vick was early in his career.

“I feel like he’s light years ahead of Michael Vick because he understands mentally what it takes to be great,” Hall said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “Mike felt like he could go out athletically and be great. R.G. is like, ‘I know athletically I’m pretty good, but I want to be mentally great. If I can be mentally great and athletically good or great then it’s scary.’ His ability to want to be that great quarterback, not just a great athlete, is what is going to separate him from all the other guys out there.”

Those comments mesh with what Griffin has said about not wanting to be stereotyped as a running quarterback. It takes some athletic quarterbacks time to learn not to rely solely on their athletic abilities, but Griffin understands right now that he needs to be a complete quarterback.