Nate Dogg's son is a legitimate college prospect

When you have a famous parent it's easy to navigate a career path following in their footsteps. True, while you may have to put in some work, it may be a little easier for your career depending on who your parent is.

Naijiel Hale may seem pretty anonymous, but when you realize that he's the late Nate Dogg's (Nathaniel Hale) son, some may think he's just someone trying to piggyback of his dad's fame. This isn't the case as the younger Hale has made a name for himself on the gridiron. Naijiel is one of the top defensive back prospects in the class of 2014. 

Hale reportedly looked like one of the top cornerback prospects on the west coast after his performance at the JuniorRank Proving Grounds Combine. As of now he's getting interest from Northwestern, UCLA, and Oregon. Hale is proving to be more than Nate Dogg's son.

Hale had seven interceptions in his sophomore season at Lakewood (Calif.) High School. He transferred to Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco and had four more picks, three of them for touchdowns. But football wasn't his first love. Like most kids basketball took up a lot of his time until Snoop Dogg got involved.

“At first, I was a basketball player and then at about 12, Snoop (Dogg) had talked to my dad and said he wanted me to play football,” said the junior. “He basically made me who I am today. I was actually scared of contact and that’s why I never wanted to play.”

Right now Oregon is the favorite for Hale's services, but you know how recruiting is, never say never. The list of interested schools should grow in the coming year. But since Hale does like the uniforms as most kids do, also he has a good relationship with Ducks running back DeAnthony Thomas.

 “I actually got an email from Coach (John) Neal of Oregon [on Tuesday],” he said. “They were really interested in me and he was going to take a trip here in a couple of weeks and keep in touch. Oregon is my top school and that’s been my dream school and they know that.”

“Just growing up, the uniforms got me and then after the uniforms I really looked into it and thought, ‘man, this would be heaven.’ Then after talking to DeAnthony, it’s just like ‘whoa’. 

It's good to see a youngster trying to carve out his own path rather than one that is set up for him.