Another article on Dave…

Ravens' Hale grateful for opportunity

By Ryan Chell, Times Staff Writer

David Hale takes every minute to realize how fortunate he is to be playing in the NFL.

The Baltimore Ravens’ rookie offensive lineman has seen how the other side lives.

For two years after high school, Hale, 25, spent time in the Dominican Republic on a religious mission with the Latter-day Saints, intent on bettering the lives of the underprivileged.

Hale spent that time knocking on villagers’ doors witnessing his faith and helping out farmers and flood victims, sometimes for 15 hours per day.

The Ravens’ fourth-round draft pick helped a lot of people, but it also helped him to realize how fortunate he was.

“It puts a lot of things into perspective,” Hale said. “It definitely humbles you because they don’t have anything down there. It humbles you and it lets you know what life is all about.”

Hale is really thankful for the opportunity to play for the Ravens even if it does mean sweating it out in the hot sun and enduring the pain of heavy contact drills at McDaniel College.

“I count my lucky stars every night for that one,” Hale said. “We’re one of the few, that’s for sure. I know they say that all the time, but we really are one of the few.”

Now, Hale is displaying the same dedication to his teammates that he had to his religion.

“He’s a very determined guy,” Ravens assistant offensive line coach Andy Moeller said. “He comes to practice prepared, and ready to work. He’s done a great job from that standpoint. He studies well and he’s into football now.”

One aspect of his game that Hale is hard at work at is getting adjusted to the speed of the game.

Like first-round quarterback Joe Flacco, Hale is a Division I-AA product having spent four years in Utah at Weber State.

Coming out of high school, Hale received partial scholarship offers from Division I schools BYU.

He chose Weber State not only because they offered him a full scholarship, but three of his brothers played football there and a few members of his family graduated from there as well.

“It’s fast,” Hale said, referring to the speed of the NFL. “It’s a lot faster than college, that’s for sure. When I first came to minicamp in May, my head was spinning. But it’s starting to get better and better every day.”

He has learned from the best the Ravens have to offer, from coaches John Matsko and Moeller, to former Ravens tackles Jonathan Ogden and Harry Swayne.

“All of them have been great,” Hale said. “Adam Terry, Marshal Yanda, every last one of them. I’ve taken all their coaching points, and watched them in film, and taken a little bit of something from all of them.”

With tackles falling to injuries over the past week, the coaching staff hopes Hale learns as much as he can as fast as he can.

“He’s getting more reps,” Moeller said. “Anytime you have those, it creates an opportunity to show what you can do and the versatility to play two different positions.”

Although questions were raised about Hale’s level of competition in college, now he’s facing elite athletes every single day.

“This is the best defense in the NFL,” Hale said. “You learn real quick from them, unless you’re going to get beat every play.”

Reach staff writer Ryan Chell at 410-857-7896 or sports@carrollcountytimes.com.