Although the Georgia Bulldogs' season ended earlier than expected with a national quarterfinals loss to eventual national runner-up Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, defensive lineman Jordan Hall was just happy to get back on the field. He missed the first half of the season with stress fractures in both of his tibias. He had to have rods placed into both of his legs. Hall did not play until the Ole Miss game.
Now that he is back, fully healthy and has had a whole offseason to get himself right physically, Hall is hoping to make some noise in the trenches for this College Football Playoff contender. Georgia may have lost a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, but the Dawgs are one of the few programs in the country that can reload as effectively. The only others in their sphere would be Ohio State and Texas.
Regardless, head coach Kirby Smart is thrilled to have Hall back and ready to start for him in Week 1.
Kirby Smart discusses Jordan Hall's long road to recovery up front
Smart spoke on Hall's resilience to fight through these injuries during his Monday press conference.
“His resilience pops out at me. It was this time last year that we found out he had a tibia fracture and had to put a rod in. Then, right after we got a rod put in his lower leg, we found out he had to have one in the other leg. So, it really set him back, and it wasn’t just the injury that set him back. It was the combination of both those happening at one time."
He then went into more detail to explain why having two bad legs is not something to be overlooked.
"You can usually get by with one leg, maybe not being 100 percent, but when you’re dealing with both legs. You’re taking on two guys, I don’t know, 25 percent of your snaps. So, there’s a lot of pressure on those double teams. Jordan No. 1, he’s bright. No. 2, he cares, he’s passionate, and he plays really hard.”
Georgia does have a few key injuries heading into the Marshall game, but Hall is not one of them.
Jordan Hall is champing at the bit to lead the defensive line up front
Hall spoke to Mike Griffith of DawgNation about how important it is for him to get out there and play.
“I’ve been wanting to play good since I got here, you know what I’m saying? So, I have the opportunity to showcase it more now than I did before. I’m just really glad that I’m playing.”
Whether it be Warren Brinson, Nazir Stackhouse or Mykel Williams, Hall knows the Georgia standard.
“The standard is always going to be the standard. Stopping running is always the biggest thing, so that’s not something we were good at last year, we all know that.”
According to Ourlads, Hall is the projected starting nose tackle for the Dawgs heading into the year.
Although Hall has only registered 14 tackles over 16 games during his first two years with the team, there is no denying the huge opportunity that lies ahead of him. Being first on the depth chart and having learned the ropes from the likes of Brinson, Stackhouse, and Williams will only serve him going forward. Having worked his way back from two broken legs simultaneously shows his true grit here.
Overall, Smart and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann are not going to put Hall into less-than-advantageous situations from the start. Georgia is at its best when it utilizes a deep defensive line rotation. The secondary may be the team's strength defensively, so even just a little bit of pressure could result in one forced turnover after another. Again, getting Hall back is simply great for morale.
Georgia may need to be a more balanced team to win it all this year, but the Dawgs are about defense!