Tanner Wall once more is in an underdog situation, having to prove himself all over again — and that suits the 2018 Yorktown High School graduate just fine.
The Brigham Young University grad recently signed a priority free-agent contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. He will compete for duties as a defensive back (safety) and special-teams player.
Wall embraces the challenge.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to go tear it up and play for Las Vegas. This will be a good spot for me,” he told ARLnow. “There are some nerves there, too, but I am excited to think I am even in this position. It’s now a reality.”
Starting at Brigham Young as a walk-on wide receiver, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Wall switched positions and sides of the ball, then eventually played his way into a scholarship player. He became a starter during his junior and senior seasons.
At BYU, the speedy Wall was a two-time Academic All-American and earned all-Big 12 first-team honors for his play during the 2025 season. He also was a special-teams standout during his entire college career.
Overall, Wall played in 45 games at BYU, starting 30 at safety and becoming a team captain.
In the 2025 campaign, Wall made 43 solo tackles and assisted on 28 more; intercepted four passes and returned one of those for a touchdown; and forced one fumble. For his BYU career, Wall recorded 147 total tackles, including 83 solo stops. He had seven career interceptions.
On special teams, Wall played on multiple units throughout his time with BYU. He was nominated for and received multiple other college honors.
Rookie minicamp with the Raiders begins for Wall on May 1. Wall also received free agent NFL offers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens.
Wall wasn’t chosen in the seven-round NFL draft mainly because of his age of 26, considered advanced for a rookie player.
After graduating from Yorktown in 2018, Wall didn’t begin playing college football until the 2021 season. He first served a two-year Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission in South America, and then Covid added to the delay.
Once at BYU, the finance/business major had to begin proving his talent, leadership worth and smarts on the field. Those assets immediately caught the eyes of coaches.
Since his high-school football days, as early as his freshman season, Wall has consistently proven himself.
“I’ve been doing that for a while, so I am definitely used to the underdog role,” Wall said.
Wall was a 5-foot-3, 99-pound player as a freshman player at Yorktown, but his father, Ryan, convinced the coaching staff to list Tanner Wall on rosters at 5-4, 105.
“We didn’t want to get in trouble with child protective services,” Ryan Wall joked.
At one point during his time at Yorktown, a coach told Wall that he was not good enough to play college or NFL football. Ryan Wall said that only motivated his son even more.
By the time Wall was a senior at Yorktown, he was a standout on offense as a receiver and quarterback, on defense in the secondary and on special teams as a kick returner and at other positions.
As a result of his senior-season production, Wall was chosen as the Arlington Sun Gazette’s 2017 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year. He also was chosen first-team all-district and all-region and received All-Met honors from The Washington Post.
In the spring of his senior year at Yorktown, Wall also was a standout baseball player for the varsity team.
Now married, Wall and his wife are expecting their first child this spring.
Yorktown’s only other current NFL player is M.J. Stewart, also a defensive back, of the Houston Texans. The eight-year veteran has played in 99 career games, making 237 combined tackles and has two interceptions.
