The academic bogeyman following Marcus Hall around all week finally caught up to him, as the football team issued a statement earlier this evening confirming a redshirt season for the sophomore. Hall's statement:
“Due to the fact that I didn’t satisfactorily complete my academic responsibilities, I will be redshirting during the 2010 season. I’m looking at this in a positive way – as an opportunity to get better on and off the field, to get stronger in the classroom, and be better prepared all-around for the rest of my time at Ohio State. I will still be practicing every day, not just to help myself get better, but to help my teammates get better.”
Reports out of camp had the tackle working with the threes recently, so most fans had likely seen the writing on the Hall, but it's still a hit to the depth of the unit. Hall had asked for and been granted the right to make a run at the left tackle spot, and after seeing photos of him at check-in that indicated an offseason of healthy living, had some of us thinking "If he beats out Adams, why not." At the very minimum he likely would have been the first tackle into the game if Adams or Shugarts had gone down. The hit is real, but depth is still there in the form of senior Andy Miller and true freshman Andrew Norwell. If we were living under the Rodriguez Vortex, we'd soon find ourselves in a situation where we'd need to start those two (and cry as dreams slip away), but the aforementioned remaining backups will be just fine as that, backups. As for Hall, if he follows the plan in his statement, this story could be a good one in the end. He'll get another year of seasoning in the program -- more mass, better footwork, mastery of the playbook -- and essentially help pad the 2010 class, which arrived with just one offensive lineman, the aforementioned Norwell.
