Concussions and head trauma awareness is stronger than it has ever been, and hopefully it is helping to reduce problems later in life for a number of young football players. That should be the hope for Georgia fullback Merritt Hall, who has been forced to step away from the game after being medically disqualified to play football as a result of a recent concussion.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Hall suffered the third concussion in the last two seasons and it was so severe it put his career at risk. During a scrimmage on Saturday, Hall took a blow to the head in a scrimmage with the first-team offense. After sitting out three days of practices, Georgia head coach Mark Richt confirmed Hall’s playing days have come to an abrupt end.
“Merritt told me he was medically DQ’d,” Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason said. “He said it wasn’t necessarily how many concussions he’s had; it was how he responded to the last concussion, the symptoms he was having. They kind of threw up a red flag about it.”
Georgia loses what would have been an asset to the run game with his strength blocking and opening running lanes for guys like Todd Gurley. As a result of the loss of Hall, Georgia has moved freshman Detric Bing-Dukes from linebacker to fullback to fill some depth. Senior Taylor Maxey has reportedly been taking the first team reps in Hall’s absence.