What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder — The Mike Hall Math Edition

I know that when I asked Larry Johnson how much more Mike Hall is going to be playing this year and he said “probably in that 45-50 (play) range,” my brain started doing math. Many minutes later, I decided to just use a calculator. Keep in mind, he only had two games of over 30 snaps last year – against Rutgers (40) and against Penn State (31), so now imagine him with twice the snaps he got last year – while also being healthy.

I think more Mike Hall is going to be a huge thing for this defense. He is a difference maker. Now he’s going to be getting Taron Vincent and Haskell Garrett-like snaps, and he’s going to do so much more with them.

I wonder what a healthy Mike Hall can do playing twice the number of snaps he played last year? When he was dominating against Notre Dame and Arkansas State, he played 30 and 28 snaps, respectively. He posted five tackles for loss and two sacks in those two games. What’s a fair expectation? I think expecting Dre’Mont Jones numbers isn’t unfair at all, if not more. Da’Von Hamilton numbers are in range. He should be a double-digit TFL guy, right?

I know the offensive line is far from settled, but if the OSU coaching staff can’t put one of the Big Ten’s three or four best units out there, some people should be returning a few paychecks. They’re not going to be as good as last year, but this is still Ohio State, and the recruiting and development is still a thing. Ryan Day was clearly concerned after the spring, but that was only 15 practices.

I think there’s a chance we’ve been so concerned about right tackle that we’ve forgotten to worry more about left tackle and center. But I have also seen this team start defensive linemen at right tackle and be just fine, so I’ll go ahead and assume everything will work itself out. Just like how every team gets down to 85 scholarship players, Ohio State will eventually get down to five starting offensive linemen.

I wonder if JJ McCarthy will allow Jim Harbaugh to open up the passing game more this year – assuming the receivers are there to make it happen. He only threw for 200 yards or more three times in the Wolverines’ final eight games last year, which is the same number of times Cade McNamara did it the year before.

To read the rest of this edition of What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder, you can find it here, but you must be a premium subscriber to Buckeye Huddle.

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