Utah linebacker Johnathan Hall has spent the last few seasons turning himself into exactly the kind of defender the Utes want in the middle of the action: fast, physical and always around the football. After leading the team in tackles last year, the former safety sounds ready to take another step in 2026.
Hall said the work of fall camp has him feeling sharper, and more comfortable in a bigger leadership role as Utah prepares for its first game against Idaho.
"I'm so excited," said Hall when asked about how he's feeling about Utah's first game vs Idaho. "All the boys are excited. The team and our defense are ready, so we're excited to go out and play."
For Hall, camp wasn’t just about conditioning and reps. He said it helped him grow in another area that matters just as much to the Utes’ defense.
"I feel like I grew most as a leader during camp," said Hall. "Just having guys follow me, and I'm taking that responsibility role and just going out. And now we're all pumped up, and I'm ready to see my young boys go and have fun."
That leadership has already been recognized inside the program. Hall was recently named a captain, a role he says carries real weight for him.
"That honor means everything," said Hall. "I've never been a captain before, not even in high school, but the guys behind me, they thought I was captain-worthy. So I'm gonna show them I can for sure be a captain for them, and I love my teammates."
As one of Utah’s top voices on defense, Hall knows the Utes have to be better against the run. That was a problem late last season, but he said the focus in camp has been on cleaning up the details.
"We've really been honing in on attention to detail vs the run," said Hall. "I'm not trying to do too much.
Once you start trying to do too much, then that's when bad things happen. Coach Swan, he preaches attention to detail and do your job."
Idaho isn’t a team Utah plans to overlook. Hall pointed to the Vandals’ quarterback, receivers and rotating running backs as reasons the Utes have to stay sharp from the start.
"They got some weapons for sure," said Hall. " Their quarterback, he's dynamic and can get out of the pocket to make plays.
They got some receivers that can catch the ball and do little stuff with it in the scramble drill. They have a couple running backs they rotate who are pretty good.
So we gotta come in and have attention to detail and be ready to play."
Even with the tackles piled up last year, Hall still sees room for improvement in one of the most basic parts of the job: finishing plays. He said Utah has emphasized tackling in practice, and he believes the defense is ready to show that edge on game day.
"The way we have been practicing, I'm excited," said Hall. "We do a good job of practicing the right way and really reenacting the tackle when we're tagging off or whatever the case may be.
I take a lot of pride in the physicality of my game. I definitely feel like our whole defense is based on physicality, and that's what we're going to show."
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