Stanford fifth-year senior A.T. Hall took one of the biggest leaps forward last year, seizing the right tackle position and ending up as one of the best players on the offense in 2017. Hall returns this season along with a number of key offensive players including Heisman favorite Bryce Love, quarterback K.J. Costello, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and tight end Kaden Smith and the Cardinal offense has a legitimate chance to be not just prolific, but historic in its production. Hall talked to The Bootleg about the first week of training camp.

Hall is excited about what he’s seen so far after the first week of camp, which has included “Guys coming out, fired up, ready to play football. Getting better at the little things. You always go back to the basics the first week of camp, but the most basic thing you can think about with football is hat placement, hand placement, all that stuff, just getting better at that every day. A lot of things are clicking pretty well and just looking to build from here.”

Hall deflects any personal points of improvement to a simple hope for his offensive line as a unit. “I just want all five guys to click honestly. That's all I can ask for. If all five guys are on the same page and ready to roll, I couldn't ask for anything more going into this season.”

New Offensive Line Coach Kevin Carberry has made a big impact on the Cardinal in advance of his first regular season staff, and Hall hit some similar notes in appraising his new position coach. “He's got a lot of energy. He's always honest about the slightest details that sometimes you forget about once bigger scheme things come into play and you have to pick up more blitzes and whatnot but he's always harping on the smallest details because those are what help you accomplish the good blocks and make the big plays. The little things with your feet and your hands. The scheme stuff will come eventually. I feel like that's one of the biggest things he brings to the table with this team is the knowledge he has.”

Much has been made of “finishing” as a theme in 2018 coming off a year in which the Cardinal lost four of five games by three points or less. That manifests on the offensive line as “holding that block for just one second longer, all you need is the one extra second, that one extra strain to get the running back to cut off your butt and make a big play,” Hall says. “Or to hold the defensive end just a little bit longer so KJ has time to make that throw and feels more comfortable. Little things like that. You can never give up on the play because it's never actually over until it's over.”

Stanford’s defensive front seven carry a big responsibility this season, and there are a alot fo question marks surrounding the least experienced front seven Stanford will be entrusting in quite a while. Hall, who goes up against many of the players in question on a daily basis, is optimistic about the progress on the other side of the bal. “They're coming a long way. They're all learning how to use their hands which is really big. That makes it tough on us. We've got some really great pass rushers. Gabe's (Reid) being a great pass rusher, Joey's (Alfieri) being a great pass rusher, J (Jordan) Fox is being a great pass rusher, Casey's (Toohill) being a good pass rusher. Jovan's (Swann) doing a good job, Dylan's (Jackson) doing a good job. All the guys have made big strides. All of them have made big strides since the spring and it's really nice to see. We really need them to step up and play well.”

Stanford returns gunslinging signal caller KJ Costello in 2018, and Hall has seen a step forward in Costello’s demeanor as well as the redshirt sophomore takes the reins for his first full season as the starter. “He always seemed calm, but he's more calm and collected than ever. He doesn't have to think about things anymore. He just does it. He knows exactly what's going to happen. He makes the call, we roll with it, it's all good. He feels comfortable up front with us because there's not a whole lot of change so he knows that we're going to give him time. He can step up, roll out, and everything will be good. Our assignment's been taken care of.”

For Hall, taking care of those close games this year means living in that 1-game mindset for twelve game weeks. His stability at a crucial position should put Stanford in position to realize its offensive potential, and hopefully to turn those close losses into wins that catapult the Cardinal into the playoff conversation come season’s end.

Stay tuned to TheBootleg.com for Stanford Football and Basketball Team and Recruiting Updates all year long!

R.J. Abeytia has been contributing to The Bootleg since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Abeytia and follow The Bootleg @TheBootleg for up to the moment Cardinal news and analysis.

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