Michael Hall Jr., IDL, Ohio State
Size:
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 290 pounds
Arm Length: 33 1/2"
Hand Size: 10”
Accomplishments:
Third-Team All-Big Ten (2023)
“Michael Hall Jr. is a quick-twitched and explosive defensive lineman with a strong pass-rush upside.”
Strengths:
Active motor
Quick-twitched mover
Functional strength
Reactive hand fighter/puncher
Concerns:
Taking on double teams
Undersized frame
Injuries
Film Analysis:
Michael Hall Jr. pops out of his stance with good quickness. He has a fluid and agile lower body to bend and dip around blockers on the OL. He can stretch and cross the blocker’s face with quickness and suddenness. Hall has flashes of the ability to be a quick one-on-one winner in pass-rush situations. He plays with high football intelligence. Hall will use the blocker’s aggressiveness against them with quick counters, swims, club, etc.
Hall throws quick punches with good placement to soften the shoulder of the blocker, creating an entry to the backfield. His counter punches are effective at disrupting the blocker’s balance and ability to latch their hands into his pads. He is effective in working on twists and stunts as either the surge creator or looper.
Hall’s agility allows him to work laterally versus outside and zone run concepts. His quickness off the ball and hand placement allows him to stack and defeat reach blocks. He can generate upfield push versus lateral blocks, forcing ball-carriers to play further east/west instead of getting upfield. Against solo blocks, Hall has flashes of functional strength at the point of attack. He holds his ground well enough to still be in a position to make a play on the ball-carrier as they press his lanes.
Hall does not boast the prototypical interior defensive lineman size. He is undersized and it shows up against physical man blocks in the run game. Hall does not hold up great versus double-team blocks in the run game. He can be moved off the ball, creating lanes for the ball-carrier. Ohio State played Hall out of position. Instead of aligning primarily as a 3-technique to handle single-gap responsibilities, he was aligned as a 0 and/or 1-technique reduced to far inside. Hall also battled injuries during the last two seasons.
Hall projects as a starter-level attacking-style defensive lineman. He is best aligned as a 3-technique that can get vertical and be a consistent disruptive force.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Winning Starter
Written By: Damian Parson
Exposures: Michigan (2023), Penn State (2023), Notre Dame (2023), Missouri (2023)
