Michigan State’s most important returnee is back, and there’s a strong case he’s the face of the whole program right now.
Linebacker Jordan Hall, who was one of the Spartans’ team captains last season, checks in at No. 1 on the team’s top-30 countdown to wrap up the list. New head coach Pat Fitzgerald managed to keep him in East Lansing, and that decision looms large for a defense that leaned on Hall every single week.
Hall was one of the few bright spots on Michigan State’s roster last fall. He was the only defender to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from both the media and coaches, and his production backed it up: 88 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. He also intercepted a pass and forced three fumbles.
What made the season even more impressive was how much Hall was fighting through physically. He dealt with turf toe and an oblique that tore against Minnesota late in the year, yet he still played every defensive snap in the next three games. That included a 78-snap outing in the season finale against Maryland.
Fitzgerald knows exactly what he’s getting. Speaking at Big Ten Football Media Days in Chicago, he called Hall “He's been a role model on and off the field,” and added, “When he made the decision to stay as a Spartan, it was a huge, huge boost for our locker room.
He was a captain last year… He's an outstanding middle linebacker. He loves the game, but he's just an all-around just special, special guy.”
The setup around Hall shouldn’t change much. Fitzgerald kept defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, so the scheme should look familiar, and Hall is still slated to start at MIKE linebacker as the centerpiece in the middle of the defense.
One of the biggest reasons Hall has climbed into that role is his growth in coverage. His 80.7 PFF coverage grade last season was a major jump from 68.7 in 2024 and 50.7 the year before. That progression helped turn him from an intriguing but uneven freshman into one of the better linebackers in the Big Ten a year ago.
His tackling has sharpened, too. Hall’s missed tackle rate as a true freshman was 15.8%, then it dropped to 9.7% last season.
That’s the kind of number that fits a Big Ten starting linebacker. For comparison, Wayne Matthews III, Michigan State’s other starting linebacker last year, posted an 8.1% missed tackle rate after arriving from Old Dominion with a 135-tackle season in 2023.
The linebacker room around Hall has changed. Matthews is gone, along with key reserves Darius Snow, who is now at Texas, and Aisea Moa, who is now at Michigan.
Michigan State brought in Auburn transfer Caleb Wheatland and Buffalo transfer Dion Crawford, with Wheatland starting at Maryland in 2024 and Crawford earning third-team All-MAC honors last season. They’ll battle for the starting WILL linebacker job in fall camp, though both are expected to play plenty.
True freshman Adam Shaw drew attention in spring, and third-year linebacker Brady Pretzlaff adds more depth.
Hall’s future beyond this season is also still open thanks to the NCAA’s new “5-in-5” eligibility rules. He can return again next offseason, but he’s made it clear he’s not planning his year around that option.
“I’ve never looked at this year as a ‘pressure’ year, even before the whole ‘5-for-5’ rule finished out,” Hall told Spartan Nation when asked about if having that option for a fifth year eases anything off his shoulders.
“If you play with that kind of pressure going into the year, you can’t play free. With that [extra year], it’s great. Let’s say I have a God-awful year, and I don’t [leave or go to the NFL], that’s cool that that’s an avenue, but I’m going to act like it’s not and just play with the most freedom that I can, and kind of see how things happen once the season starts coming towards the end.”
Fitzgerald said he wants Hall aiming higher than another college season.
“I hope he goes and plays on Sunday. That's what I've talked to him about," Fitzgerald said about Hall’s potential return in 2027.
"That rule benefits you if we need it. And he could go out and have an All-Big Ten year, and I told him I'm gonna do everything in my power - and I've done this my whole career - researching and finding out where he's at.
“This is a brass tacks conversation. If it fiscally makes sense for him to come back, that's something that he and his family want to do, we would do it with open arms and I'd be doing the Irish jig. If it's not, then I hope he invites me to his draft party and it probably means he had a great year."
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