2017 Recruiting: JaRaymond Hall

Previously: Last year's profiles. S J'Marick Woods, S Jaylen Kelly-Powell, S Brad Hawkins, CB Ambry Thomas, CB Benjamin St-Juste, LB Drew Singleton, LB Jordan Anthony, LB Josh Ross, DE Kwity Paye, DE Luiji Vilain, DE Corey Malone-Hatcher, DE Deron Irving-Bey, DT Donovan Jeter, DT Phil Paea, DT James Hudson, DT Aubrey Solomon, C Cesar Ruiz.

JaRaymond Hall is amongst Michigan's most venerable commitments in this class—amongst enrollees only Benjamin St Juste and Kurt Taylor beat him out—and possibly its most forgotten. OL tend to get lost in the shuffle, especially when Michigan spends the entire cycle trying to bring in seven other guys. That goes for fans and recruiting services; this post required far less pruning than most because recruiting services all but stopped talking about Hall after his very early commitment. Hall got tagged in zero (0) recruiting roundups after his commit.

If he did come up on recruiting sites it was usually to thunk him down the rankings. He plunged at 247 from a top 100 player to a generic three star; he fell out of the Scout 300 after starting at #196; Rivals wasn't satisfied with a generic three star ranking and bombed him down to the #78 OT in the country and #17 player in Michigan. On the other hand, ESPN moved him up 100 spots between then and now. The end result is a weird mish-mash of love and hate. He's this year's Chris Evans.

As per usual, explanations for his decline were thin on the ground. 24/7 was the only site to offer even a cursory explanation:

JaRaymond was a guy initially ranked high but his development hasn't been that of a Top247 guy.

That's it. We are invited to read between the lines.

Okay, here goes: Hall was ahead of the curve physically early and fell back to the pack as the cycle continued. He's still a quality prospect per most folks, but even the site highest on him, ESPN, has an evaluation that sounds reserved:

Not a physically imposing presence, but does demonstrate very good raw strength … Moves better then testing results might suggest. …  Arm length looks adequate for size … Can tend to lunge at times and pad level can rise, but displays quick feet and good balance… Can deliver a good initial pop and roll hips. Once locked on tough to shake, but needs to improve hand placement. Can quickly work to second level and cover up targets. … may not 'wow' you physically, but he is a good, tough player.

Michigan has a few OL in this class who will compete to be first off the bus; Hall isn't one of them, at least not this juncture. Most evaluations are in lockstep with ESPN's. Athleticism is mentioned frequently; "needs to add strength" is almost always the next thing out of the scout's mouth. That will happen naturally; some evaluations are skeptical of his ceiling because of the way he's shaped. Brandon Brown:

…very athletic… long, lean build that allows him to get out and move extremely well. … When he gets locked on to a defender his quick feet and athletic ability allow him to stay between that defender and his quarterback. … doesn't have a frame that looks like he could add a ton of weight. His lower body is well built and powerful but he'll need to gain strength in his upper body.

Per his trainer this was a common take early, and some of that no doubt persists in his rankings:

"A lot of coaches questioned his size at first wondering if he could handle 280 (pounds) or around 300 but you could tell that he had the potential.

When Seth saw him at SMSB, he was very much in the middle of that questioning period:

Hall is super light on his feet and built on the lean side; Jason Spriggs was the comparison I made in my mind … The size thing was kind of an issue against bigger DL the few times he caught one, but he was credited by … for using his space. Contrary to just about every other OL, the skinny unpadded little DEs couldn't rush by him. He just took 'em wide.

Scout's eval has "power and strength" as an area to improve:

Long, lean, athletic offensive lineman who plays with a mean streak. … Has added weight and strength but can continue to do that still. Bends well, mobile, has good feet, and has the intangibles as well.

Camps were the same thing: "athletic kid… still has to add strength up top"; "used his athletic ability and quick feet to battle … must get stronger."

We've read between the lines: unlikely that Hall becomes a road grader. But he's still got a couple four star rankings and a high-ish three star one because Hall sounds like the kind of guy Rich Rodriguez would jump at. Those mentions of athleticism above do not cease. Clint Brewster:

…athletic and tough. He's got a nasty side ….athleticism to get down in his stance and fire off. He can bend and turn his body to stay in front of shifty defensive lineman and Hall can shuffle his feet to stay in front … good upside when you consider his size, athleticism, raw strength, and physical demeanor.

Tim Drevno made up a word:

"I love his foot turnover speed and I love his athleticism. … physical at the point of attack. He recovers well, too. If he gets himself into a bad position, he is able to come out with his top-notch recoverability skills."

His trainer calls him"long, very athletic, and very flexible"; Brown scouted him in person twice after his initial film take. Part the first:

Hall has really filled out in his lower body … remains athletic and quick and … long arms and good size

Part the second:

… really filling out and now says he's up to 285 pounds but still moves very well. … Even smaller, speedier guys were ineffective because of Hall's quick feet and length.

If Hall can get to 300, and quickly, despite those concerns about his frame he should hit the top end of his evaluations instead of the bottom end. Early returns are decent. Also decent for Hall: he is a Rich Rod OL and Michigan just hired his OL coach.

Hall enrolled early and generated some positive, if redundant, chatter. Jon Runyan Jr:

“JaRaymond is really athletic. We have him out there at tackle. He can move really well. He's got great feet, really athletic."

Ben Bredeson said basically the same thing, calling Hall and Cesar Ruiz "extremely athletic." Per Bredeson, Hall made significant progress:

"JaRaymond, it was just nice to see his technique clean up and all come together by the end of spring ball there. You could see both of them making their own strides. They did really well. Both of them did very, very well this spring.

You heard it here first: he's athletic. FWIW, Hall could not participate in the spring game due to injury.

Etc.:Correct, sir: 

When asked who his top five teams were during the recruiting process, Hall, a four-star tackle, replied: “Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan and Michigan,” making sure there was no doubt on where he wanted to be.

Jennifer Lawrence okay dot gif:

The Skinny: Michigan State was Hall's dream school growing up, but the Spartans never offered him. Hall not camping at Michigan State hurt his chances on being offered by MSU. Hall committed to Michigan in December.

Why Patrick Omameh? Omameh was a radically undersized high school OL who Michigan snatched away from Cincinnati at the last second who was momentarily a tackle before moving inside and becoming a hyper athletic guard—what's that DON'T MIND IF I DO:

He was never that powerful but his mobility made him a second-level asset and excellent pass protector. He was undrafted but has still carved out an NFL career that's ongoing.

Hall might be able to play tackle but the other, more definitively tackle-shaped guys in this class mean he's most likely to end up as an athletic interior player. Other comparables include David Moosman and Steve Schilling, both tackle-ish guards without huge power but good mobility.

Guru Reliability: Low. Huge spread, OL, shut it down after his commitment and skipped the camp scene.

Variance: High. OL. OL who might end up lacking sufficient power and top out as an adequate backup option. High school career mostly against goofs, little camp stuff.

Ceiling: High-minus. I mean, Omameh's still kicking around the NFL.

General Excitement Level: Moderate. Real wildcard in the class.

Projection: Obvious redshirt. In year two Michigan will probably have an open OT spot and may have already deployed one of Hall's classmates, so competition will be relatively thin: Grant Newsome, if he can successfully rehab, his classmates, and Runyan Jr. Hall's lack of spring buzz makes it seem like he's unlikely to be the guy next year.

If he doesn't win that LT job it'll be two more years before spots open up. The only senior OL on the 2018 roster will be Juwann Bushell-Beatty, and that's if he gets a fifth year. That'll buy Hall two more years of development before he attempts to crack the lineup as a redshirt junior. That could be at tackle but is more likely to be at guard.