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Utah football receives major update on Johnathan Hall's future with the Utes

Hall led the Utes in tackles last season
Cole Forsman|
Utah Utes head coach Morgan Scalley has brought back several key pieces on both sides of the ball during the transfer portal cycle.
Utah Utes head coach Morgan Scalley has brought back several key pieces on both sides of the ball during the transfer portal cycle. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

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Utah Utes

Utah linebacker Johnathan Hall has re-signed with the Utes for his senior season, he announced Thursday via social media.

Joe Coles of the Desert News first reported the news Wednesday night. Hall's new deal will reportedly make him one of the highest-paid linebackers in college football.

Retaining Hall's services for one more season was a big move for Morgan Scalley and his program. Hall started all 13 games and led the Utes with 67 total tackles, including six for loss and 4.5 sacks. He also snagged an interception, defended four passes and forced a fumble for a unit that allowed 18.9 points per game (No. 18 in the Football Bowl Subdivision) and 177.8 passing yards per contest (No. 17), earning All-Big 12 honorable mention honors at the end of the regular season.

A former three-star recruit in the 2023 class, Hall has played 38 games over his three-year career with the Utes. The 6-foot-1 Katy, Texas, native was originally utilized at safety before making a full transition to linebacker ahead of the 2024 campaign.

The switch from defensive back to playing in the front seven drew positive results out of Hall, who finished 2024 with a team-high nine tackles for loss and defended four passes across 12 games played, including three starts.

Hall will likely play a pivotal role for the Utes defense in 2026 as one of the more experienced veterans in the linebacker room. Utah is set to lose seniors Lander Barton and Levani Damuni to graduation and rising sophomore Christian Thatcher to the transfer portal, along with several other key pieces of Scalley's defense.

Utah's starting defensive line, including John Henry Daley (portal), Jonah Lea'ea (portal), Dallas Vakalahi (portal) and Logan Fano (NFL draft), are set to depart the program this offseason, in addition to starting defensive backs Smith Snowden (portal) and Tao Johnson (portal). Some of the Utes' depth at cornerback has gone portaling as well, with LaTristan Thompson and Don Saunders both opting to test their value on the open market.

The Utes got right to work revamping their front line, signing North Texas transfer Ethan Day and Wyoming transfer Lucas Samsula within the first week of the two-week portal window being open. Day's arrival to Salt Lake City could prove to be an important one, considering the 6-foot-4, 250 pound lineman is coming off a season in which he recorded 30 total tackles, including seven for loss, and had 4.5 sacks.

On the backend, Utah snagged Oklahoma transfer Marcus Wimberly to potentially play safety.

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman has been a contributor with On SI for the past three years, covering college athletics. He holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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