Five games into his junior season, Jordan Hall is having an incredible bounce-back year after recording just 24 tackles and two pass breakups in 2024.
The junior linebacker from IMG Academy is a captain, to no one’s surprise, and he’s not only leading vocally, but he’s leading by example. He’s up to 38 tackles on the season with 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and a massive pick against Nebraska that, if the Spartans had won, would’ve been considered one of the contributing plays.
To put it frankly, Hall has had an incredible season and is looking like the player Michigan State fans thought he’d be when he committed under Mel Tucker.
Hall’s excellent play hasn’t gone unnoticed. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi spoke to the media on Wednesday and raved about the junior linebacker. Not only did he rave about Hall, but he said that he might just be the best linebacker that he’s ever coached in his career.
Talk about high praise.
Joe Rossi: “I think Jordan Hall can be the best one I’ve coached yet, in my career. He’s having a good year, but there’s more there.”
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) October 8, 2025
Rossi has been a coach for about 25 years now, and he’s led some impressive Minnesota and Rutgers defenses, so being dubbed “the best one” in a coaching career is up there with some of Hall’s top accomplishments.
Obviously Rossi said he “can” be the best one he’s coached yet, so there’s still some work to do, but it’s clear that the potential is there. Hall is a special player, and Rossi has taken note.
The defense looked infinitely better against Nebraska than it did the previous three games against Boston College, Youngstown State, and USC, and that should provide some hope for fans. At least we know that Hall is going to bring it every single week.