Hassan Hall shines in NFL debut with the Browns in 2023 Hall of Fame Game
Tonight, former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Hassan Hall and E.J. Jenkins made their NFL debuts in the 2023 Hall of Fame Game and Hall had a very nice game for Cleveland.
Both guys played predominately in the second half, but they made the most of their opportunities. Hall finished the game with five carries for 34 yards and Jenkins caught two passes on two targets for 18 yards. Hall especially looks like he has earned himself more playing time after the way that he carried the ball tonight.
Charlie Thomas, the other Georgia Tech rookie in tonight's game, made some key plays in the fourth quarter of tonight's game. He forced a fumble and was flying around on defense, something he specialized in at Georgia Tech.
It was a great night for all three former Yellow Jackets in their first NFL preseason action. The Browns will take on the Commanders next Friday, while the Jets face No. 1 pick Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers next Saturday.
Former Georgia Tech running back Hassan Hall had a nice debut with the Cleveland Browns
Julie Vennitti Botos / Canton Repository / USA TODAY NETWORK
Hall could be falling along the same lines as Jordan Mason did last season. After not being drafted coming out of Georgia Tech, Mason played a role in the San Francisco 49er's backfield last season on their way to the playoffs
After having only 24 carries through the first four games of the season in 2022 for GT, things changed in game five against Pitt, the first game with Brent Key as the interim head coach.
Hall had his breakout game against the Panthers, carrying the ball 20 times for 157 yards, averaging nearly eight yards per carry, including a 63-yard run. For the rest of the season, Hall would have at least eight carries in each game except for the last game of the season against Georgia.
Hall was also the fifth-leading receiver for Georgia Tech, catching 28 passes for 165 yards.
While he did not receive an invite to the 2023 NFL Combine, Hall made sure to put on a good showing for his pro day. He ran a sub 4.5 forty-yard dash, had a 37-inch vertical jump, which was the best among all participants that day, a 10-foot, 10-inch broad jump and he had 18 reps on the bench press. He left an impression that day among the NFL scouts that were in attendance.
Jenkins caught 17 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns while averaging over 18 yards per catch. His best game this season perhaps was against Florida State, when he hauled in three catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Thomas had a fantastic season that resulted in him earning second-team All-ACC from the AP. He finished the 2022 season with over 100 tackles, had two sacks, two pass deflections, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He was a constant playmaker for the Yellow Jackets and he is not going to be easy to replace.
Because of his size at 6'2 207 LBS, I don't think that Thomas is going to be a traditional linebacker that plays a lot of snaps in the box. I think he could make a mark as a safety or linebacker in nickel packages that is used in coverage and as a blitzer. Thomas tallied 10 career sacks at Georgia Tech, as well as reeling in four interceptions. His coverage grades of 80.5 in 2021 and 70.1 in 2022 suggest that there is potential for Thomas to be a good coverage player and the 10 sacks show he can be an effective blitzer from different places around the field. He showed how versatile he can be tonight and how well he does flying around on the defense.
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