on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, A.J. Bouye, and Elbert Mack. He made his professional regular season debut in the Texans' season-opener against the Washington Redskins and made his first career tackle on returner Andre Roberts during a 28-yard kick return in the second quarter of their 17-6 victory. Prior to Week 5, the Houston Texans promoted Hal to the role as the third cornerback on the depth chart after A. J. Bouye suffered a groin injury and backup Darryl Morris sustained an ankle injury during their victory against the Buffalo Bills the previous week. On November 2, 2014, Hal recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and two pass deflections during a 31-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a healthy scratch for two consecutive games (Weeks 14-15). Hal finished his rookie season in with 21 combined tackles (18 solo) and four pass deflections in 14 games and 14 starts. 2015 During organized team activities and training camp, Hal started a conversion to the safety position. Texans' staff chose to move him to safety after it became evident his ability to earn playing time at cornerback would be difficult due to the arrival of 2015 first round pick Kevin Johnson and the presence of Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, and A. J. Bouye. Throughout training camp, Hal competed against Eddie Pleasant, Lonnie Ballentine, and Stevie Brown for the job as the starting strong safety after it was left vacant due to the release of D. J. Swearinger. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel named Hal the backup strong safety behind newly acquired free agent Quintin Demps to start the regular season. On October 18, 2015, Hal earned his first career start at strong safety in place of Quintin Demps, who sustained a hamstring injury the previous week. Hal recorded three combined tackles, two pass deflections, two interceptions, and his first career touchdown during their 31–20 victory at the Jacksonville Jaguars. He made his first career interception in the third quarter off a pass by quarterback Blake Bortles that was intended for tight end Julius Thomas. In the fourth quarter, he intercepted Bortles for the second time and returned it for a 31-yard touchdown. On October 29, 2015, head coach Bill O'Brien notified Hal that he would replace Rahim Moore as the starting free safety for the upcoming game in Week 8. He earned the