The Cardinal Countdown: 19 Days Until Kickoff

#19 Hassan Hall

Class: Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-0/205

Position: Running Back

Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Twitter: @Sayblackboyyy

Thoughts: Go find any article written about Hassan Hall in the last two or three years and I guarantee it includes the word ‘speed’ or ‘fast’. As one of the high profile targets in Petrino’s ‘Speed City’ initiative out on the recruiting trail the three star two way player out of Atlanta picked the Cards the over Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Navy, and Syracuse and believe it or not…he’s pretty dang fast.

When the Cards grabbed Hassan back on NSD the debate was still pretty contentious over which side of the ball would ultimately be blessed with the services of Mr. Hall. He played running back and safety in high school and both groups felt like an athlete of his caliber would be a nice boost to their respective position rooms. Want to take a guess which side won out? Other than the blatantly obvious ‘Running Back’ listed at the top of the post even the most casual fan had to assume that Petrino was going to do what he needed to in order to place him squarely into his bag of tricks. In fact, Petrino being the one who highlighted him back on NSD should have been a dead giveaway that he wasn’t letting him go play defense. You can only describe a man’s “speed, big hips, and heavy lower body” so much before you just pull the trigger on putting him at running back fulltime. There are tons of highlights out there for Hall but the acceleration at about 49 seconds into the video below raised my eyebrows a notch or two for sure…

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that there is a 99% chance Hall gets at least a snap or two against Bama Week 1, for a couple reasons. First, the new rule allows freshman to compete in four games without burning a redshirt, and putting another kid on the field with some speed could only help against a big/physical defense. Second, even though he’s a true freshman a quick screen or a jet sweep has very little risk but HUGE potential if you can get him out in open space. While I wouldn’t necessarily suggest burning the redshirt unless necessary (or he proves to be invaluable) getting him early reps can only help in his development moving forward. Even though we’ve seen the perpetual position mover on the roster before I think a few solid runs in 2018 will be what seals the deal for Hall and cements his feet firmly on the offensive side of the ball moving forward. If that doesn’t happen….I have no doubt we can find a spot for a super athletic kid who can run a 10.3 second 100m somewhere on a Petrino roster.

Sweet Tweet:

I too learn from a lot of things Hassan. One of those ways is via ‘Cardinal Countdown’ poll results. Let s take a quick moment to review some of our prior polls from days past….

Day 97 – You all were digging the Red Chrome helmets and all black look in 2017…

Day 58 – You think the officials need more say on close targeting calls…

Day 50 – You think an 8-4 record is likely in our future…

Day 33 – You think Georgia would dominate the other states in 7-on-7…

And the most surprising one of all….

Day 42 – 19% of you would get lost in your own house. East…? West….? You’re killin’ me smalls. It’s North folks. North.

And, one last thing I learned …..every single day the rest of the countdown, except Day 14 and Day 13, there are at least two players wearing that respective days number. Good news for you the reader, rough news for me the “typer”. Maybe this year Mrs. CardinalStrong will recognize carpel tunnel syndrome as a legit reason for me to rest on the couch three days straight once the season starts…I get no sympathy.