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Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michael Hall Jr. 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Ohio State DT

Originally posted on The 33rd Team | By Greg Cosell | Last updated 4/22/24

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.

Michael Hall's 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS

Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 290
40-yard dash: 4.78
Vertical jump: 33"
Broad jump: 9-foot-3
Arm: 33 1/2"
Winspan: 81 1/8"

Michael Hall 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

STRENGTHS

Showed natural quickness off the ball in the run game with a snap to his movement, especially in confined spaces.
Quick, explosive hand usage to break down OL in the run game. Excellent balance and body control.
He played strong off the snap with leverage and power to jar OL, then lockout with his hands and play off blocks.
Run game snaps from 1-technique where he controlled OG and OC at the POA winning vs. individual blocks.
POA strength to stalemate double-team blocks. Lower-body strength to hold his ground and maintain gaps.
Strong and dominant at the POA in the run game. Controlled OL with outstanding upper body and core strength.
Balance and body control to change direction and re-direct in confined space. Natural quickness to movement.
Sudden club-arm-over move with balance and burst off the move and explosive-closing speed.
Pass rush snaps at 0-technique where he showed bull rush strength and power to drive back OC into the pocket.
Overall, there was a twitchy, sudden, violent nature to his movement. Showed up as an inside pass rusher.

WEAKNESSES

Run game snaps in which he was physically handled at POA. Inconsistent in dealing with double-team blocks.
Needs to do a better job locking out arms with extension in the run game to keep his lower half clean to play off contact.
Overall, he must improve as a run defender. Far too many snaps in which he was physically driven out of his gap.
He must develop a wider array of pass-rush moves and counters to further take advantage of his natural quickness.

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.

NFL TRANSITION

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.

OTHER NOTES

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.

This article first appeared on The 33rd Team and was syndicated with permission.

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