Ohio State Football: Mike Hall’s big chance
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football team is looking to have an improved defense this season. The defensive line showed some flashes of dominance at times a year ago but wasn’t a consistent force of nature like they have been in years past. Mike Hall is looking to help change that in 2023.
Hall got some consistent playing time last season for the first time in his Ohio State football career. He responded by recording 19 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Quite frankly, I thought he should have played even more last year. He shouldn’t have been rotated out as much.
It just seems that whenever Hall is on the field good things happen for the Buckeyes. He is a force up the middle. He helps push the pocket on pass plays and clogs in the middle in the run game. He has a huge chance this season to really show his value.
Hall has been projected as a first-round pick in some mock drafts for the 2024 NFL Draft. They are betting that he builds on last year and plays even better now that he’s an undisputed starter at defensive tackle. I think it’s a pretty safe bet to make.
The defense is going to go through a lot of scrutiny. It’s been the defense that has failed over the past few years and held Ohio State back from winning a national championship. A lot of that will be saved for the secondary, but the defensive line isn’t immune either.
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Hall will try to put that scrutiny to rest. He’s a really good player that has some other really good players around him on the defensive line. Together they can all help the secondary by getting more pressure on the quarterback. I’m really curious to see how that unit plays this season.