Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson sees 'alpha dog' in 'genuine' Mike Hall Jr.

There's a lot Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson had already said about the latest of his students to go on to the NFL, Mike Hall Jr. Much of it, obviously, had to do with his abilities on the football field.

However, Johnson was asked at the end if there was anything else about Hall he wanted to share. Anything that he felt like hadn't been asked, but needed to be known.

Johnson jumped at the opportunity. Not to add any more to the story of Mike Hall Jr., the football player, but to the story of Mike Hall Jr., the person.

"Mike's very, very highly intelligent," Johnson said in a phone interview Monday with the Beacon Journal. "He's very mature. Mike gets it. He's like a son to me. We have a really close relationship. He'll let you into its heart and a lot of kids don't do that, but Mike will.

"That's the thing I think is really special people don't know about him is that Mike is really genuine. He cares about people. He really does, and I think that's something that people will find out in Cleveland. He's a really giving guy, big smile, walking in a room, loves life and he wants to be great."

Johnson knows what great defensive linemen look like, because he's been directly responsible for helping dozens of them develop during their college years, be it at Ohio State or, previously, at Penn State. Some of the best in the NFL have passed under his tutelage.

Hall, whom the Browns took at No. 54 overall last Friday, is merely the latest on that list. The Streetsboro High School product blossomed into a full-time rotational player the last two seasons after redshirting as a true freshman in 2021, including 12 starts in 24 games played between 2022-23.

Yet, as Hall spoke of Johnson's impact on him during his introductory press conference last Saturday, the thing he kept returning to was how much his position coach helped him away from football.

"You know, he’s my mentor, and he was my sports psych before I was into sports psych," Hall said. "So, you know, just being transparent with him and being able to talk to him about anything, I feel like that was the the best thing that could have happened for me and him. And just to have that real close bond and that relationship, you know, it really helped me as a player.”

Hall earned All-Big Ten honors each of his last two seasons in Columbus. He was honorable mention in 2022, then was named to the third team last season.

In 2022, Hall had his best statistical year with 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He came back last season with just 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

While the statistics may say Hall took a step back, Johnson disputes any such thoughts. In fact, he contends that such ideas of "stepping back" don't exist in Hall's lexicon.

"First of all, he's an alpha dog," Johnson said. "He's a go-get-it guy. He wants to be great. He wears it on his chest and his heart."

However, there's something else that grew even closer to Hall's heart in the last year. That was his son, Mike Hall III, who was born in September.

Hall himself has spoken about how much the birth of his son has changed him and his perspective. It was a motivating factor in his decision to forego his final two seasons of eligibility with the Buckeyes to pursue the NFL ranks.

It was a different Hall that Johnson felt he coached last season at Ohio State. It was one who understood what he was taking on was much more than just some random blocker or double team at the line of scrimmage.

"I think it's totally different," Johnson said. "I think when you take on a responsibility to become a father, and Mike took that mindset that he wanted to be a great father, and I think he changed again in a sense of the responsibility. … He saw a way of means to really change his life, his son's life going into the last half of the season. I'm just glad it paid off for him."

Hall, who won't turn 21 until June 13, will be much like a freshman in college again as he joins the Browns. He'll specifically be joining a position group that has been, by design, built around a lot of older veterans.

Johnson, who still considers Hall "like a son" as he leaves the nest for the next stage in his life, believes Cleveland is the ideal spot for his young pupil to land. Much in the way he provided a sage voice for Hall to hear, that's what he believes players such as Dalvin Tomlinson, Shelby Harris, Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith will give him as well.

"I don't know where you can put a price tag on that," Johnson said. "Man, that is invaluable. You talking about All-Pro players that walk in the room. They're going to take Mike under their wings and teach him. Man, you can't ask for a better room than Mike's going to walk into, I really think. When you're around great players, you have one choice. You can be great or you can be average. And in this case here, Mike has one choice, to continue to push himself to be great."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mike Hall Jr. an 'alpha dog' according to Ohio State's Larry Johnson