There has been a lot of praise heaped on Bucs rookie defensive tackle Logan Hall. Legendary Bucs Hall of Famer Warren Sapp loves him. Teammate Will Gholston said that Hall is “more athletic than J.J. Watt in his prime.”

All of that hype is creating some lofty expectations for Hall during his rookie season. As a player who recorded 6.5 sacks last year at Houston on the Cougars’ “Sack Avenue” defense, what kind of expectations does Hall have for his first year in Tampa Bay?

“Before, I told myself I want to have six sacks. I ended with 6.5 at Houston. I feel like that’s a very reasonable number coming into my rookie season,” Hall said. “But my goal would be to add value to the team wherever possible. Wherever they need me, I’m going to do whatever I can do to put the team in a position to win. Obviously, I love getting to the quarterback and that’s my favorite part about the game, so getting back there and getting some sacks is obviously part of that.”

Hall’s Lofty Sack Projection

Sapp, a first-round pick in 1995, had three sacks during his rookie season. Gerald McCoy, a first-rounder in 2010, also had three sacks. That was the same number of sacks that Vita Vea, a first-round pick in 2018, had.

Bucs Hall of Fame DT Warren Sapp and D-line coaches Lori Locust and Kacy Rodgers and DE Will Gholston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Hall thinks he can double that in his first season in the NFL, which is a lofty expectation. In case you’re wondering, the Bucs’ rookie record for sacks is 10 from Santana Dotson in 1992. Dotson played four years in Tampa Bay before finishing his career with six seasons in Green Bay. The highest number of sacks that Dotson recorded after his rookie season was only six in 2000.

Hall will be playing the 3-technique defensive tackle position in Tampa Bay, which is what Ndamukong Suh played the last two seasons. An experienced veteran, Suh recorded six sacks in back-to-back years from 2020-21. Because he’ll likely be isolated one-on-one with guards, Hall should have plenty of opportunities to get to the quarterback.

“Just me playing the 3-technique specifically, having the freedom to pass rush,” Hall said. “In a lot of situations, I’ll have a two-way go, which is ideal for me because it gives me a lot of opportunities to work as a pass rusher.”

Getting some helpful advice and instruction from Sapp a few weeks ago during the OTAs only aids Hall in his quest to have a productive rookie season.

“I really enjoyed learning from him. He’s got a lot of juice,” Hall said. “He was actually out there demoing some of the reps, so I thought that was really cool to see. He always says, ‘long levers are strong levers’ and me playing with length, being as big as I am, and trying to use that to my advantage – that was a really good tool for my toolbox from him.”