After missing the first five games of the season, junior safety Adam Hall is likely to start on Saturday as the Arizona Wildcats travel north to face the winless Oregon State Beavers. While nothing has been made official, head coach Mike Stoops had this to say regarding Hall's injury progression:
"He's practicing well, so we'll see," Stoops said.
"I like what he's doing. He's close. He's very explosive right now. We'll see tomorrow how he does, how he feels. He was in there getting some contact today, and that's good. He's on the right track."
As for Hall's explosion and ability to react quickly, no one will quite know how his ACL responds until kickoff on Saturday. What UA can expect is to have one of their vocal leaders back on the field, which will be a big boost to the defense as a relatively easy stretch of upcoming games arrive.
In addition to the safety, junior linebacker Jake Fischer has also progressed well since injuring his ACL and could potential return for Arizona's next home game, which is a Thursday night game on October 20. While Fischer's recovery could always be halted by re-injuring that knee in practice, the idea of having two of our best defenders back on the field has to be very appealing to the 'Cats, the coaching staff and the fans.
For more on UA, Arizona Desert Swarm is the place to check out.