There are only ten days left until the start of Utah’s first Big 12 season, so with ten days left, let’s discuss No. 10, Jonathan Hall. The sophomore safety from Katy, TX showed up on campus in 2023 ready to contribute immediately, therefore the program elected not to use his redshirt season. With last year’s starters Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki off to the NFL, Hall has a golden opportunity ahead of him, as it’s the one starting defensive positions that could have a competitive battle wage on into the season.

In 13 games with one start during the 2023 season, Hall recorded 19 tackles (1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack).

UteNation Take

Hall has a nose for the ball and a high football IQ, both which helped him get valuable reps as a true freshman. With both Bishop and Vaki no longer holding down the back end of the Utah defense, Tao Johnson is tabbed as the starter at free safety, but the battle at strong safety could go 2-3 games into the season. Hall has been in a heated three-way battle with Nate Ritchie and Stanford transfer Alaka’i Gilman.

If Hall doesn’t win the starting strong safety position, showing versatility will be key. If he can show that he’ll have an impact on the defense.

Remembering Hall’s Recruitment

The 3-star Rivals-rated safety held almost 30 offers coming out of Katy HS, including Arizona, Baylor, Florida State, Houston, LSU, Nebraska, Oregon State, SMU, TCU, and Texas. The versatile safety visited Utah in late June and committed just over a week later. Hall stayed firm in his commitment despite numerous offers from Texas schools and others in the southeast.