BYU QB Jaren Hall Says He Will Play Saturday Against Arkansas

PROVO, Utah – BYU quarterback Jaren Hall was seemingly banged up in the loss to Notre Dame this past week, but he said he is ready to play Saturday.

The injury likely occurred during the Utah State loss the Thursday prior and speculation was a shoulder injury. In the loss to the Irish, Hall threw just 17 passes and completed nine which was by far his lowest output of the season. During his post-game press conference, Hall downplayed any sort of shoulder injury and took full responsibility for the passing game being as bad as it was.

“Everybody’s dinged up, everyone has a thing. I felt 100 percent,” said Hall after the Notre Dame game. “Earlier in the week? A little bit different story. But tonight felt great. Contrary to popular belief, no shoulder injury, you know, felt good.

“All that stuff is on me. I am the quarterback, with the ball in my hands.”

Head coach Kalani Sitake had a different update after the game and said he felt that Hall was not completely healthy out there.

“Yeah, I don’t think he was 100 percent,” Sitake said after the Notre Dame loss. “We had to look at all the decisions that we’re making and making sure our guys are in the right spot. He definitely was banged up. We have to go back and figure out what our game plan was and see what we can do.

“I thought he made some really good throws, especially in the second half. Let’s see how he feels after this. But we’re open to whatever is going to get our team in a better position to be successful and get a win.”

Fast forward to Tuesday of game week against Arkansas, Hall joined KSL Sports Zone’s Unrivaled for his weekly conversation and when asked directly if he will play on Saturday, Hall indicated in the affirmative.

“If I played last Saturday, I’m playing this Saturday,” Hall said.

Having Hall out there is a huge deal for this Cougar team this week, especially so since Arkansas is very likely returning its dynamic quarterback KJ Jefferson who has been banged up of late.

“Yeah, he has no choice. He’s got to go. I mean, this is mid-season football, so he’s got to be ready to roll,” Sitake said Monday when asked about his quarterback.

#BYU QB Jaren Hall tells @KSLunrivaled that he will be playing this Saturday against Arkansas. pic.twitter.com/0YXSabNR3q

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 12, 2022

Hall didn’t specifically say what his health level was, but he did say in reference to the Notre Dame game stat line that the result was on him and the offense not moving the ball.  In the first half, there was an interception on the first drive, short drives that yielded a pair of punts, a short field for a touchdown, and a five-play drive for a field goal.

The Cougars just didn’t have the ball a lot against the Irish. Give Hall the ball more often and chances to get his key wide receivers involved with Gunner Romney and Puka Nuka, then games can go a completely different way for BYU.

BYU will need all of its weapons available this weekend against the Razorbacks. When Jefferson is healthy, he puts up huge numbers for this Arkansas team, and do not be surprised if this game ends up being a high-scoring affair.

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