Mike Hall is staying in Ohio.
After standout wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was taken by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 overall on Thursday, Mike Hall became the second Buckeye to hear his name called as he was taken by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 54 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.
bringing in another Buckeye
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 27, 2024
: #NFLDraft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/Zf0B0QC3WH
A native of nearby Streetsboro, Ohio, Hall will now return to Northeast Ohio to begin his NFL career.
Hall is the first Ohio State defensive tackle drafted since Tommy Togiai was picked No. 132 overall in the fourth round by the Browns in the 2021 NFL draft. He’s the fourth Buckeye drafted by the Browns in the last four years, joining offensive linemen Dawand Jones and Luke Wypler, who were both drafted by the Browns last year.
He becomes the fifth Buckeye on the Browns’ current roster, joining Jones, Wypler and defensive backs Denzel Ward and Ronnie Hickman.
Great addition in Mike Hall for the @Browns! You cant go wrong with Buckeyes!
— Denzel Ward (@denzelward) April 27, 2024
Hall was the eighth defensive tackle selected in this year’s draft after Texas’ Byron Murphy went to the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 16 overall pick and Clemson’s Ruke Orhorhoro (No. 35 overall, Atlanta Falcons), Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton (No. 36, Washington Commanders), Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat (No. 38, Tennessee Titans), Florida State’s Braden Fiske (No. 39, Los Angeles Rams), LSU’s Maason Smith (No. 48, Jacksonville Jaguars) and Michigan’s Kris Jenkins (No. 49, Cincinnati Bengals) all went in the first 17 picks of the second round.
Hall had been a projected Day 2 pick in nearly every mock draft and will have a chance to make an immediate impact in Cleveland’s defensive tackle rotation. He saw his stock rise after a prolific Senior Bowl performance in February, which he followed up by running a spectacular 40-yard dash time of 4.75 seconds at Ohio State’s pro day, proving he has rare athleticism for an interior defensive lineman that gives him high upside at the next level.
Hall was one of just two players from his recruiting class, along with Harrison, to enter the 2024 NFL draft after just three years at Ohio State. But while many of his teammates chose to stay in Columbus for another season, Hall decided to go pro because he wanted to provide for his son Michael Hall III, who was born one day before OSU's third game of last season against Western Kentucky.
“It definitely weighed, but just got to do what's best for my family and feed my family first,” Hall said in February at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Hall battled injuries during the past two seasons which may have prevented him from playing to his full potential after redshirting as a true freshman. Still, he flashed plenty of playmaking ability in his two playing seasons, recording 43 total tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks and earning third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2023.
“I would say just having (Ohio State defensive line coach) Larry Johnson as a coach and (Ryan) Day as my head coach just developed me greatly as a player and just helped me on and off the field,” Hall said. “I knew I was ready for sure.”
