Jordan Hall is the Embodiment of Michigan State Football

In the era of the transfer portal, the story of a player that stays at the same school for all four seasons is rare. After three coaching changes and two defensive coordinators, all for a player not even raised in the state, however? That is the definition of commitment. Jordan Hall has stuck through Michigan State football through lots of lows, and is looking to raise Michigan State back to the highs they experienced as recently as the year before he came on campus.

A Story Like No Other

There is no story in college football like the fourth-year linebacker. Hall stepped up after injuries decimated the linebacker depth chart during Hall’s true freshman season.

That all occurred as the Mel Tucker saga saw the coach that recruited Hall be released from the program before the linebacker had even played a conference game. Then, Hall had the chance to shine, where he proceeded to prove himself as a rising star for the new staff.

The new staff, however, wanted Hall to be patient. Joe Rossi had his eyes on Jordan Turner, a Wisconsin transfer now playing with the Denver Broncos, and Cal Haladay, a longtime Spartan stalwart. Hall was relegated to subbing in alongside Darius Snow, Wayne Matthews, and Brady Pretzlaff during the 2024 season.

However, his turn came, Hall got the starting role, the captainship, and had his time to shine. However, it was not without its own setbacks. Hall was ejected for a targeting call during the opening conference matchup against USC before a terrifying collision saw Matthews III depart the game via ambulance.

Hall returned to the lineup alongside Matthews the next game, with the junior Hall recording his first career interception. However, the losses continued to mount, and the season caught up with Hall, too. He partially tore his oblique against Michigan before fully tearing it in the Minnesota matchup.

Hall, unphased, had one of his best career games against the Gophers and finished out the season playing in every game, including an emotional victory over Maryland to send the seniors out strong.

Being “The Spartan”

The linebacker is a player that will firmly be in contention for the guidelines for jersey No. 1, a Pat Fitzgerald tradition. The head coach revealed to the media that, in his experience, the player wearing the “1” for a team has tended to put themselves above those standards, which is why the Spartan roster currently does not contain a player wearing it.

After a full spring and summer of workouts, however, the coaches and leadership council will gather with a short list of names for players to consider worthy of the one. For Coach Fitz, the number one embodies what it means to be “the” Spartan.

The lines of wearing the one had me thinking, what does it mean to be a Spartan to the players? Naturally, the first person I asked this question to was Hall.

“I think for me, especially in the landscape of college football, where it’s at now… There’s a certain portion of a person who is willing to commit to the green and white for, you know, whatever period of time that you’re there, and putting your all into that,” Hall summarized.

“Why Stay?”

For Hall, the answer came in prayer, along with the retention of coaches. The linebacker wanted to know his system, and Rossi’s retention offered that security that Hall desired.

“A lot of time was in prayer, whether or not this is the right thing for me to do,” Hall revealed. “Not knowing what was happening next in that December area where we didn’t have a head coach. Once they hired Coach Fitz, I was like, ‘you know, this definitely seemed like the kind of coach I would want to be under,’ and then keeping Coach Rossi as my DC was something important going into my last year. I wanted to be in a system I knew, and that I wasn’t uncomfortable for my last year.”

Five in Five Rule? Not Under Consideration Yet

When asked about the five-for-five rule, where Hall can come back to Michigan State for a fifth season in 2027, the linebacker would not reveal much, mostly due to his own focus on the upcoming season.

“Yeah, not currently (focusing on it) right now. Haven’t given it much thought,” Hall said. “I’m just focused on right now and being the best linebacker, teammate, and leader that I can be.”