The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Michael Hall Jr.
Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. (51) celebrates a sack of Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) during the first half of the NCAA football game at Michigan Stadium.
Hall did not put up big production numbers in 2023. However, a detailed breakdown of his tape shows an inside pass rusher with explosive and disruptive traits to beat interior OL and attack the pocket.
What immediately showed up when you watched Hall’s tape was the initial, sudden quickness off the ball, especially as a pass rusher. He has excellent lateral agility, balance, body control and explosive closing burst to the QB. Hall is an advanced interior pass rusher who could win 1-on-1 vs. OGs and OCs with his explosiveness and rapid-fire hand usage.
He was effective with stunt concepts as a looper and penetrator. Hall would best project to the next level as a 1-gap 3-technique in a four-man front. He will more than likely begin his career as a sub-defense DT, rushing the QB. That way, his off-the-ball-explosiveness, lateral agility, quickness and dynamic hand usage (explosive club arm over move) would present challenges for interior OL.
Hall played three years at Ohio State, making 11 starts in his 28 games. He came out of Ohio as a four-star recruit and the fourth-rated DT prospect in the nation.
Hall lined up at 3-technique and 1-technique in Ohio State’s four-man front. He was deployed as a rotational DT in 2023, playing approximately half the snaps (410 snaps out of 838). Hall played significant snaps at 1-technique, but I do not see him as a 1-technique in the NFL.
Hall had a dominating performance in the run game vs. Notre Dame, showcasing his off-the-ball quickness and explosive hand usage. His go-to move was club-arm over, which was consistently effective. Hall was dominant as an inside pass rusher vs. Maryland. His lateral quickness and short-area burst were too much to handle for the interior of the OL.
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