Dawgs By Nature
The defense gets another piece of the puzzle to keep this elite status going
The Cleveland Browns went into the 2024 NFL draft with several needs, but not for any starting position on both sides of the ball plus on special teams. Every player selected this year can become depth and develop for a future season or even two seasons from now. What a luxury this is.
Without a first-round draft pick for the third year in a row, each choice is an important piece to keep this playoff ship going for years to come in the toughest division in the NFL.
So, with their first draft pick, GM Andrew Berry selected Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall, Jr. (6’-3”, 290 pounds).
The choice of Hall at first glance may be a bit of a head-scratcher only because the DT room is so full right now.
Currently, Dalvin Tomlinson and Mo Hurst are the starters. Re-signed was Shelby Harris while Chris Williams and Jayden Peevy signed reserve/future contracts. In free agency Quinton Jefferson was brought in. Berry has now drafted a DT two years in a row as he took Baylor DT Siaka Ika in the 2023 draft.
Suddenly, there are eight defensive tackles on the roster. Traditionally, Cleveland has kept four DTs and four DEs but last year, DC Jim Schwartz kept five.
Who exactly is Michael Hall, Jr.? And how does he fit into the plans for the Browns’ defense?
The talented player was actually born in Cleveland. He was a big kid right off the bat and by the age of eight months was opening the refrigerator door by himself without the assistance of his older brother Brandon.
He began his high school career at Benedictine High School, a Catholic preparatory institution located on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Cleveland. Hall’s mom Linda Hick found a job in nearby Streetsboro, Ohio and the family moved there. It wasn’t an easy adjustment for Hall who had lived his entire life in the big city and was now thrust into more of a rural and farm setting.
In an interview with the Record-Courier, Hall explained about the relocation process:
“At first when I got here, it was just weird. Streetsboro is like right together. Everybody knows everybody. You know you see them every day. So, it’s just crazy. I’m not a big fan of meeting new people.”
Hall attended Streetsboro High School where he played football and basketball, and worked at the nearby McDonald’s located on State Road 14. Actually, just about everything is located on State Road 14, or Highway 43, or State Road 303 all of which are just south of Interstate 80. They all intersect into Streetsboro named after settler Titus Street in 1798.
He became known as the big but quiet kid. A friend who also worked at the fast-food joint got Hall to start working out in the weight room, which he soon fell in love with.
While living in...
