Georgia DL Jordan Hall experiences set back, likely to miss start of season
Georgia will be without sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Hall longer than originally thought. Kirby Smart confirmed multiple DawgsHQ reports on Tuesday when he said that Hall experienced a setback and will miss the start of the 2024 season.
Hall missed the start of preseason camp with a tibia stress fracture that required surgery. Smart says that he is now dealing with the same injury in the other leg, an ailment that required surgery. No timeline was given on Tuesday but sources tell DawgsHQ that missing the start of the season is likely.
“He’s on a good timeline,” Smart said. “It’s not a long-term deal. He actually knows what to expect.”
The Bulldogs begin the season with an AFLAC Kickoff game matchup with Clemson on August 31 (12 p.m. ET on ABC). Hall was already fighting to make it back for that first game and it appeared as if he was making progress. When reporters were able to watch about 13 minutes of practice last week, Hall was conditioning off to the side with Warren Brinson (achilles) and Jared Wilson (undisclosed).
Hall is a former five-star prospect who signed with the Bulldogs as their second highest-ranked prospect.According to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average of the four websites that published recruiting rankings, he was the nation’s No. 25 overall prospect and the No. 4 defensive tackle. He was the No. 4 player in Florida.
Hall was expected to be a key cog for Georgia in 2024. He got significant experience as a freshman last season, appearing in 10 games total and playing well over 100 snaps. He worked with the first-team defense during the annual G-Day spring scrimmage.
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The Bulldogs have a veteran core on the defensive linemen led by super seniors Nazir Stackhouse and Brinson. Christen Miller is entering his third season with the program and those three were projected to join forces with Hall to form the primary rotation in 2024.
With Hall on the shelf, Georgia will now have to lean on younger players. Redshirt freshmen Jamaal Jarrett and Xzavir McLeod have gotten looks with the first-team defense this preseason. True freshmen Justin Thomas and Nasir Johnson might also have to pitch in, especially with Brinson on the mend. Defensive line depth is something that is always on Kirby Smart‘s mind.
“We’ve gotta get the young guys to play,” Smart said to open preseason camp. “You never have enough defensive linemen, so just from the jump street, we’ve got some big bodies in that room, but we’ve got some inexperienced big bodies. So it’s really important that we establish depth, that we’re looking at a potentially longer season.
“We have, I wanna say, four or maybe five new guys that are first-year — with us, because that includes a portal transfer and four high school guys — that are 300 pounds or greater and haven’t played a snap for us. They will provide our depth in that room that when guys get injured, and guys get injured at that position, they’ve gotta be able to step up and play. That’s an area we’ve gotta continue to develop and grow. I mean, everybody does. Nobody has enough of them.”
