Catching up on 2023 Hellos that we missed during the rush of basketball/hockey postseason, we begin today with RB Benjamin Hall. Hall hails from Kenesaw, GA, and attends North Cobb HS in the Atlanta area. Michigan beat out South Carolina to land his commitment and he is now the second RB in the class: 

 

GURU RATINGS

Rivals: 5'11/220	ESPN: 5'11/225	247: 5'10/225	On3: 6'0/225	247 Comp
3*, 5.7, NR OVR #29 RB, #35 GA	3*, 77, #248 SE #41 RB, #55 GA	3*, 86, NR OVR #54 RB, #75 GA	3*, 85, NR OVR #72 RB, #100 GA	3*, 0.864, #623 OVR #45 RB, #55 GA
3.79	3.65	3.56		3.64

Last row is Seth's conversion to a five-star scale. Links are to profiles

Hall is a player still rising up boards and therefore doesn't have full evaluations yet from many of these scouting services. Right now he is seen as a firm 3* recruit outside the top 500, but Hall has the profile of someone who will rise further over the course of the cycle. He was only a rotational piece as a junior last season, splitting carries with his team's QB, and the stats are not as illustrious as that of a typical high-end recruit. However, if he has a larger role and takes advantage of the opportunity as a senior, I could easily see him moving up the rankings. He was high on Michigan's RB board and the staff has had pretty good success at recruiting players who become late risers as the recruiting cycle rolls along. Hall seems like another possibility to add to that group. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: the usuals]

 

SCOUTING

The scouting on Hall is not nearly as rigorous as it is for other recruits, but we will take what we can get here. Most of the major scouting services we quoted in the guru ratings area have next to nothing on Hall in the way of actual scouting, instead relying on the height/weight to deem him a "sturdy" back who will complement speedster Cole Cabana in the RB class for 2023. However, Ryan Wright of Rivals is an exception, giving us this blurb: 

Great size and speed, already has the look of a collegiate back. Seeing how he slides through the holes; he knows the offense well. Once he gets the crease, Hall has the burst and speed to finish. While in the mix making the move to the second level, his field vision is elite allowing him to pick up extra yards. His power helps push the chains down field.

Power and intelligence show up in Touch The Banner's review of Hall, showing off his positive attributes: 

He shows good patience and makes some nice jump cuts after setting up blocks. He’s tough to bring down once he gets to full speed and doesn’t shy away from contact or try to be something he’s not; he’s not elusive, he seems to know it, and he can plow through third-level players, if not second-level ones.

However, Rivals' characterization of Hall as having "great speed" is called much more in to question by TTB here: 

What Hall lacks – which is not surprising at his size – is acceleration, top-end speed, and elusiveness. He’s a battering ram disguised as a heavy beam, originally with an end in the form of a carved ram’s head, formerly used in breaching fortifications. The big question with him is does he have enough juice to get through the hole.

That write-up includes a comparison to Hassan Haskins, but casts doubt that Hall has the same jumpiness/athleticism that Haskins has, even if he's a player around the same size who approaches the game in a similar way. 

EJ Holland doesn't provide much in the way of detailed scouting, but gives a rough characterization of Hall here ($): 

Hall is more of a between the tackles power back. At 6-foot, 225 pounds, Hall is in the same mold as 2021 signee Tavierre Dunlap. We haven’t seen much of Dunlap at Michigan just yet, but like Hall, Dunlap was at his best when running through defenders in the box. He had a decent burst and long speed, and the same can be said about Hall

That's about all we have out there on Hall at the moment from the scouting services. He's a player we'll learn more about during his senior season, because his commitment to Michigan will cause scouting gurus to go down to North Cobb to watch him play more intently. Holland admits in that quoted piece that he's only seen Hall play a regulation game once, and it was in a game he was attending to watch a different, high-end prospect play in. That dynamic should change this fall. 

OFFERS 

Hall held offers from a number of P5 schools, including Utah, Wake Forest, Vandy, Minnesota, UVA, BC, South Carolina, and Georgia Tech. He also was offered outside the P5 by teams like Liberty, Georgia State, and Coastal Carolina. South Carolina had been considered the leader for Hall, before Michigan ramped up their pursuit in March. Hall visited Ann Arbor in mid-March and apparently connected quite well with Mike Hart, locking in his OV for June and then committing to the Wolverines shortly thereafter on March 29. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Hall attends North Cobb HS north of Atlanta. North Cobb is a big school, with an enrollment just under 3,000 and as a result, they play in the largest division, AAAAAAA. North Cobb was Region 3 and they were the class of that region in 2021-22, finishing 10-2 overall and 5-0 in region, eventually losing to Roswell in the postseason. North Cobb's QB is Malachi Singleton, a 3.5* recruit committed to Arkansas, and their top WR last season signed with Charlotte. It's appropriate to say that Hall may not be at a football factory, but he's at a good program with talent on the roster and legit competition in the top division of Georgia HS football. 

STATS 

In the 2021 season, Hall rushed 95 times for 543 yards and 8 TDs. He was the lead back, but a heavy amount of the rush offense comes from the QB Singleton, who led the team in carries. Hall also caught 12 passes for 110 yards, for an average of 72.6 all-purpose yards per game.

FAKE 40 TIME 

N/A. None listed anywhere on the internet that I could find. 

VIDEO 

Here's Hall's junior year tape: 

His Hudl page has plenty of individual game highlights you can watch if you are interested. 

EJ Holland got some video of Benjamin Hall just yesterday at a camp: 

Michigan RB commit Benjamin Hall (@ThebenjaminH) working pass catching #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/ANUU6uYqEr

— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) May 4, 2022

And another: 

First look at Michigan RB commit Benjamin Hall (@ThebenjaminH). Built like a tank. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/oW825AwFGw

— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) May 4, 2022

ETC 

Competed in the Under Armour All-America Camp Series stop in Atlanta, earning MVP of the game. Plans to major in kinesiology in college. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Hall is a bit of a flier at this point in time. The build/physical component is there. He's got the body of a power RB at the NCAA level, already matching Hassan Haskins' weight despite being a couple inches shorter. Whether he can actually develop into that caliber of player remains to be seen. Personally I didn't think Hall was overly fast watching the Hudl tape embedded above, but you can make it work without having breakaway speed if there's the ability to muscle through tackles and pick up yards in short-yardage situations. He's seen as a better recruit than Haskins or Karan Higdon at this juncture, and does have the potential to rise further as a senior this fall. All of that is promising. 

In practical terms, Hall will arrive in the fall of 2023, and will be up against a rather busy RB depth chart for players fitting his mold. Michigan took Tavierre Dunlap in 2021 and CJ Stokes in 2022, and Donovan Edwards will still be on the roster in 2023. As a result, it's hard to see Hall getting much playing time in 2023, and he could be challenged for significant looks the next year, should either Dunlap or Stokes hit (not to mention Cabana also at the RB position in Hall's same year). Thus, Hall will likely not be relied on to do too much right away, which is probably positive. Simmer a little bit and then see what he can do down the line.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Michigan has now received the commitment of two RBs for 2023, Hall and Cole Cabana. At face value, those two may be enough to call the RB class complete, as they are two very different kinds of backs that complement each other well. Hall is the between-the-tackles bruiser and Cabana is the speed back with flexibility to line up in the slot and test the perimeter. However, the fact that Cabana has the ability to play WR a la AJ Henning means that Michigan may not be completely done at this position. They continue to sniff around other RB recruits, and I think the desire to take a legit 4* true RB is still there.

Hall is a stab in the dark, and they did that last cycle with CJ Stokes as their lone 2022 RB commit. The hope was to take someone closer to the top 300 and if that opportunity presents itself, I don't think Michigan would shy away. Deeming Hall as a "take" at this point in the cycle was pretty ballsy, but Hart is a coach who trusts his evaluations and obviously thinks quite highly of him. Whether that precludes Michigan from taking a third back, we shall see, but I'm skeptical.