2024 NFL Draft: Ohio State's Michael Hall to Take Visit With Jaguars

The former top recruit could be a top-50 pick.

Mar 20, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. works out / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

The Jacksonville Jaguars are taking a close look at one of the best defensive linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft.

According to KPRC2's Aaron Wilson, Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall was in Jacksonville on Friday for an official visit with the Jaguars. Hall is widely projected to be a second-round selection.

A four-star recruit and top-60 prospect out of high school, Hall appeared in four games as a freshman in 2021, recording two tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

Hall, who turns 21 in June, appeared in 12 games and started in five in 2022, recording 19 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks on his way to Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors.

In 2023, Hall appeared in 12 games and started seven, recording 24 tackles, two tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He was named Third Team All-Big Ten as a result.

The Jaguars added veteran defensive tackle Arik Armstead in free agency to join a group that has DaVon Hamilton, Roy Robertson-Harris, Adom Gotsis, and Jeremiah Ledbetter in the rotation. But with a change in defensive schemes under new coordinator Ryan Nielsen, the Jaguars' could place an even larger emphasis on getting production in the trenches.

“Well, when you can’t run the football and later in the year, you can’t stop the run, that’s a problem in the National Football League. We’ve always prided ourselves on being able to do that; run the football, stop the run. For whatever reason, we weren’t able to do that," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said in January.

"I think there’s a lot of moving parts to that. I don’t think it’s just player related, I don’t think it’s just scheme related. We’ve got to get bigger, we’ve got to get stronger, we’ve got to get more physical in the trenches. If you want to compete for championships, you have to do that. I think we’ve got some good pieces in there, we have some good young players in there, but we have to get better.”