SEATTLE | It's a decision that every talented upperclassman faces once the regular season is over: whether or not to come back for another year or take their chances in the NFL. It is an easy choice for some top players, but it proves a little bit more difficult for guys like Auburn's Derick Hall.

Yet that doesn't seem to be on EDGE rusher's mind. Not when you ask Hall. His eyes are on completing his junior season with a victory against Houston.

"I'm just focusing on the task at hand -- going down to Birmingham and playing in the bowl game and trying to win this game for the guys and the seniors that don't have the chance or opportunity to come back or take that next step," Hall said.

That's bad news for the Cougars as the junior put in perhaps his best performance in an Auburn uniform against Alabama, sacking Bryce Young three times while recording 3.5 tackles for a loss and six total tackles. It was a showcase for the NFL scouts in attendance as his stock rose in a hurry. On the NFL Mock Draft Database, Hall projects as a 5th-round pick.

The Gulfport, Miss., native says he has gotten "significantly better" over the past season, crediting the new staff and the culture they brought while admitting that he can still improve. If he returns to the Plains, Hall will likely be preseason All-SEC after putting up 53 total tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, nine sacks and two forced fumbles in 2021. And, if he continues to put up performances as he did in the Iron Bowl, he will continue to rise in the draft ranks.

That, however, is all in the future for the menacing man in the trenches.

"The guys that already made their decisions, I'm happy for them; they're my teammates, and I love 'em," Hall said. "But we have to go out and win this bowl game and send these guys out the right way."