At the start of the season, virtually every SEC team expected sophomore defensive linesman Myles Garrett to build off his outstanding freshman debut as the main force of an otherwise-lackluster Texas A&M defense. What they probably did not expect was a second Aggies defensive linesman to take the pressure off Garrett and prove his worth as a defensive stalwart in his own right – something junior Daeshon Hall has set himself upon.
By: Cory Burrell
Hall started the season with an extraordinary game most pass rushers can only dream of. Against the then-15th-ranked team in the nation, Arizona State, Hall recorded 4.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two forced fumbles, eclipsing his career numbers in the latter two categories in a single game. Even Garrett’s numbers on the day- a very respectable two sacks and one forced fumble – seemed rather pedestrian compared Hall’s feats. The Aggies defense dominated a nationally-ranked team in a 38-17 victory.
Outside of College Station, Hall’s manhandling against the Sun Devils was unexpected or maybe a fluke performance. Ask his coaches as Texas A&M, such as head coach Kevin Sumlin, and they will tell you there was never any question to the talent Hall possesses.
“If things go right for him, he could have a big year,” Sumlin said during training camp in August. “We need him to.”
Defensive coordinator John Chavis, in his first year on the Aggies coaching staff after leaving the same position at LSU, had even stronger praise for Hall, calling Garrett and Hall “two of the best defensive ends in college football.”
Before the season started, these expectations for Hall seemed more than a little lofty. After all, Hall was a player who recorded five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last season – fairly mundane numbers for a player his coaches were considering the supporting piece Garrett and the Aggies needed. But if you look beyond the statistics, there were signs that predict this is Hall’s season.
Hall started his career at Texas A&M in 2013. As a true freshman, Hall got time in every game that year and even earned a start toward the end of the season against Missouri. Outside getting on the field, Hall’s debut season was largely forgettable. He was a bit player on an extremely porous defense – a defense overshadowed by a juggernaut offense led by 2013 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.
Hall’s mediocre freshman season may have had less to do with talent and more to do with injury. Hall suffered from two torn labrums before he stepped on the field as an Aggie. Unable to work out with any effectiveness in the weight room, Hall struggled with injuries and a general lack of strength (he weighed only 210 pounds his freshman season – nearly 50 pounds lighter than his current weight) in his first taste of college play.
Texas A&M Head Coach Kevin Sumlin even admitted later Hall should have been redshirted his freshman year, but a lack of depth on the defensive end for the Aggies forced Sumlin to use every capable player he had.
“We put him on the field because we didn’t have anybody,” Sumlin said. “He should’ve redshirted.”
The following season, Manziel left for the NFL and Garrett, touted as the second-best high school recruit in the nation, arrived. Myles, son of a former All-American track star Audrey Garrett, set the SEC (especially their quarterbacks) on fire last season. He easily crushed the SEC freshman record for sacks in a single season, formerly held by Jadeveon Clowney, the top pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
The Aggies offense clearly felt the loss of Manziel, going from an unstoppable scoring machine to merely one among the top-25 offenses in the nation. While the defense also felt some impact by Garrett arrival, but still found itself well-entrenched in the bottom half of defenses in the NCAA. Even with Garrett’s impact, opposing teams quickly learned he was the only player capable of consistently shutting down offenses. Garrett faced an onslaught of double and even triple teams, yet none of Garrett teammates (Hall included) were able to take significant advantage of the attention Garrett drew.
Hall was injury-free and in better shape than he had ever been, but still wasn’t enough. Hall said the past offseason was the first time he was able to train under a heavy workload in the weight room, and the results of his seven-month-long training program are starting to show.
“I put the hard work in during the offseason, trying to get my body right, try to get my shoulders and everything right,” Hall told ESPN’s Sam Khan Jr. “I’ve just been working hard and working on my technique and it paid off.”
When teams were able to cheat and throw all their attention on Garrett, the Aggies struggled to get stops. Now with Hall coming into his own, double teams are being exploited by Hall and holes are opening up for other members of the Aggies defensive line. If this kind of performance continues, offensives will be put into the difficult position of continuing to slow down Garrett or preventing Hall and the other Aggies from running over their offensive line.
Even when the big sack totals are coming in, the impact of the Garrett and Hall-led Aggies defense is felt. Against Ball State, no Texas A&M player recorded a sack, yet the Aggies harassed the Cardinals’ passing game, holding them to 121 yard, no touchdowns, and a completion percentage under 50%. Not coincidentally, Texas A&M routed the Cardinals 56-23.
The combination of Garrett and Hall is not only finding success on the field; it is breeding respect and a friendly rivalry between the two teammates that is already pushing the two to the height of their potentials.
“Myles is a good player,” Hall said in an interview with The Battalion. “Probably one of the best defensive ends in the country. I’m happy for my man, whatever accolades he gets … I’m excited for Myles every time he makes a play. We give each other confidence when we get tired, or if I’m tired, if he’s tired.””
It is virtually guaranteed Hall will not be able to sustain his production at least a slight drop off, at least in terms of statistics. If Hall manage to maintain his current rate of two sacks per game, he would easily break the single-season sack record in FBS history, set by Terrell Suggs in 2002 with 24.
Hall does not need to keep up such an extreme level however. Hall has recovered from injury woes and strength issues to become a legitimate defensive end on his own right. Paired with Garrett, expect the Aggies traditionally below-average defense to torment offensive lines all season long.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
