The promotion of Hall from the practice squad to the Eagles' 53-man roster is one of the good things to cheer for in this season of discontent. He made the move on Wednesday after the Eagles released safety Jarrad Page, and Hall didn't officially sign his contract until practice was over for the day.

And then, as he walked from the locker room at the NovaCare Complex to his meeting after practice, Hall had not yet made the call to the people who mattered most. His parents. He just didn't have the time.

"They know, though," he said. "And I know how happy they are."

It's been a trying season for Hall, the former star from the Air Force Academy. Hall came from nowhere last season to play eight games for the Eagles. He caught 11 passes scored a touchdown against the Cowboys and headed into the offseason with optimism.

Then came the lockout. Instead of lounging poolside, Hall spent his days working with a handful of quarterbacks from around the league, refining his craft. When the call came to open the season, Hall was ready.

And with DeSean Jackson holding out, and with Jeremy Maclin sidelined by an illness, Hall had his share of repetitions in practice at Lehigh University. He was a faster, more confident receiver.

Then Jackson reported for practice. Then the Eagles added Steve Smith as an unrestricted free agent. And Maclin was healthy, as it turned out.

Suddenly, as the Eagles moved people around and tried to work the 53-man roster, Hall was a casualty.

"I understand the numbers part of it, but it was still disappointing," he said. "I played well in training camp. I wanted to be here, be part of things on Sundays. I knew we added some good players to the team in free agency, but I was out there every day doing my job."

Hall, you remember, was discovered by the Eagles at a college Pro Day and signed virtually on the spot. It was a nice story, this little kid who was a big-shot at Air Force getting his chance to make it in the NFL. Hall caught every pass and ran every route last year in his first assignment as a wide receiver and stuck on the roster of an imaginative offense that used him as a running back, a slot receiver and anywhere they could fit him into the scheme.

He's back now, uncertain of where he will be asked to help on Sundays but willing to do it all.

"I just want to be out there. Sunday when we played Arizona was the first time I had been to a game and it was a weird feeling," he said. "I looked down on the field and said, 'I've been down there, helping the team win. I should be there. I belong there.' Now I have my chance again and I'm going to make the most of it."

Hall hasn't changed much to the outside eye in the last year. He's a better receiver, of course, having worked so hard on his routes and his knowledge of the position. He's working the scruffy beard now, so he doesn't look quite as much like a 17-year-old as he did in 2010. The hunger in his eye remains and you know that if he plays on Sunday he is going to give it everything he has and play as if his career depends upon his performance.

Which, of course, it does.

"I will never take anything for granted," said Hall, who loses his practice-squad eligibility when he is active for one more game day. "I know how this works. Nobody is going to be handed to me. I have to earn it. Every bit of it. That's fine with me. I like it that way. Give me a chance to prove myself and I'll do it."

Hall is so refreshing, the attitude that he has. He wants to be an Eagle more than anything in the world. Doesn't this team need more players like him? Isn't that the missing piece through nine games, having more players who want to be here, who want to be Eagles?

We need more stories like Hall right now. A 3-6 record is not a pleasant place to be. Just know that a young man like Hall has a chance to prove to everyone all over again that he deserves to be in the NFL, to be an Eagle. Somehow, that makes the picture here brighter, to know that a player in that locker room, on the field, appreciates the opportunity in front of him and that is going to exhaust every ounce of his being to stay right where he is for as long as the coaches want him.