Ex-Wildcat gives Ravens bigger Utah connection

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — David Hale said the biggest adjustment to the National Football League comes on trips to the grocery store.

"People will say, 'Hey Mr. Hale, good luck on Sunday.' You have a connection. People know who I am. That surprised me," said the Plain City, Utah native, a fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year out of Weber State.

It is pretty hard to miss Hale, a rookie guard/tackle who is listed at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds. He has a bald head with a thick red beard. So it is no surprise he is greeted in the aisles of grocery stories in Baltimore County.

Hale, 25, was a standout at Fremont High and became the fourth member of his family to play at Weber State. He was a starter at right tackle in college and was a first-team all Big Sky Conference player in 2006 and 2007.

"David is a right tackle who can play tackle and guard," Eric DeCosta, Ravens director of college scouting, said when Hale was picked. "He's a very physical, mean, tough, nasty guy."

Hale, polite off the field, is a reserve for the youngest offensive line in the NFL. But entering the Oct. 12 game with Indianapolis, the Ravens' running game ranked fourth in the league and the team had allowed just six sacks — the sixth-best mark in the NFL.

Hale practices on a regular basis against defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, a Salt Lake City native and a first-round pick of the Ravens out of Oregon in 2006.

"If I can block him I can block anybody," Hale said.

Hale said it was nice to see a familiar face when he joined the Ravens, and the former Weber State standout said he played with some of Ngata's cousins as an amateur.

The Ravens have at least four other connections to Utah.

Former University of Utah player Kelly Talavou is a nose tackle and is on the reserve/injured list for the Ravens. He made 24 starts for Utah after transferring from Idaho. He was signed by the Ravens in May a few days after he was released by Seattle. Talavou began his NFL career with Atlanta in 2007.

Wade Harman, the tight ends coach for Baltimore, played linebacker at Utah State after transferring from Drake. He earned a master's degree from Utah State in health, physical education and recreation in 1988. This is his 10th season with the Ravens. Harman also coached with the Vikings and was a coach at Utah State from 1987-91.

Bob Rogucki, the strength and conditioning coach, was the strength coach at Weber State in 1982. Craig Ver Steeg, an offensive assistant with the Ravens, was an assistant at the University of Utah from 1986-89 and again from 2001-02.