Chance Hall’s career at Tennessee had such promise when he first arrived at the university. Now, however, his football career is coming to an end.
According to 247Sports, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt revealed during Tennessee’s National Signing Day celebration in Nashville on Thursday night that redshirt junior Chance Hall’s football career is over. Pruitt said that Hall is “giving up football” and that he will go on medical scholarship and will no longer suit up for the Vols.
Hall is the third Tennessee offensive lineman to have to quit football early this offseason. Freshman Tanner Antonutti and redshirt sophomore Devante Brooks both had their football careers cut short because of injury and went on medical scholarship this offseason as well. Antonutti is staying with UT’s football program as a student assistant and plans to learn from Tennessee’s coaches and eventually become a coach himself.
Pruitt didn’t clarify what Hall’s future plans are beyond going on medical scholarship.
Hall joined Tennessee as part of their 2015 signing class as a borderline three-star/four-star lineman. The Virginia native suffered an achilles injury his senior year of high school, but he showed great resolve and rehabbed in time to be a contributor for the Vols as a true freshman. He was thrust into a major role in the middle of Tennessee’s comeback victory over Georgia in 2015, and he would go on to make seven starts as a true freshman and earn Freshman All-American and All-SEC Freshman honors.
But after that spurt of promise, Hall’s career got derailed by injuries.
Hall had to undergo surgery in the offseason of 2016 and missed fall camp and the first three games of the season. He started the next six games at right tackle for Tennessee, but then a knee injury caused him to miss the remainder of the season.
That injury and the rehab from it caused Hall to miss the entire 2017 season, and he took a medical redshirt year to recover.
Hall fought back and tried to be a contributor for Tennessee’s offensive line in 2018, but he never could get back to what he once was. He appeared in eight games — primarily at right guard — during the season, missing contests against UTEP, Florida, South Carolina, and Missouri.
Now, Hall’s football career is over.
The 6-foot-5, 328-pound lineman started 13 games in his UT career and appeared in a total of 24 games. He graduated in December and received his degree in Finance.
Tennessee signed five offensive linemen during in their 2019 recruiting class. Five-star offensive tackle Darnell Wright, five-star offensive tackle Wanya Morris, four-star guard Jackson Lampley, three-star guard Melvin McBride, and three-star offensive tackle Chris Akporoghene will be responsible for re-bolstering the depth and adding competition to Tennessee’s offensive line room.
