ACC Injury Report: UNC’s Benjamin Hall Expected to Play Against Stanford

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina running back Benjamin Hall is listed as probable for this weekend’s ACC football assignment against Stanford, meaning he’s expected to play in the game, as per the league’s new policy that mandates availability reports prior to conference games.

Hall didn’t play in the second half last week at Syracuse due to an ankle injury. Offensive lineman Chad Lindberg (out) and tight end Connor Cox (probable) showed up with notable designations on Thursday night’s initial availability report for the Tar Heels (3-5 overall, 1-3 ACC), who on Saturday meet the visiting Cardinal (3-6, 2-4) in a cross-country league matchup.

Multiple program sources have said the starting center Lindberg suffered a season-ending arm injury in the first half at Syracuse, when Carolina went on to win 27-10 and stop its four-game losing skid. So the Tar Heels once again are working with a reshuffled deck on the offensive line, where nine different players have logged at least one start.

Here’s a quick rundown of UNC’s portion from Thursday night’s first injury report for the Stanford game. The ACC requires coach Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels, along with interim coach Frank Reich and the Cardinal, to submit two more availability reports — another on Friday night and then a final version on Saturday afternoon, two hours before the game’s scheduled 4:30 p.m. kickoff at Kenan Stadium.

OUT FOR UNC
DB Thad Dixon
LB Chinedu Onyeagoro
LB Tyler Houser
OL Chad Lindberg
DL Laderion Williams
DL Kamarion Thomas
TE Cort Halsey
TE Deems May

PROBABLE FOR UNC
RB Benjamin Hall
TE Connor Cox

Hall is Carolina’s second-leading rusher on the season (203 yards on 50 carries), behind true freshman Demon June (416 yards on 64 carries). Hall ran for 17 yards last week at Syracuse, while backfield mates June and Davion Gause combined for 158 rushing yards. June had a monster effort, delivering 182 total yards from scrimmage on the night and two touchdowns during the second half, as the Tar Heels turned a 10-6 halftime deficit into a 27-10 victory going away.

This week, the Tar Heels have been installed as 7½-point favorites over Stanford by the oddsmakers. UNC’s offensive line has been dependent on moving parts throughout the course of this first season under Belichick, and the Tar Heels have returned Austin Blaske to the center position, due to Lindberg’s arm injury.

UNC had found a string of consistency up front with the same starting group of offensive linemen across the last four games — Blaske at left tackle, Will O’Steen at left guard, Lindberg at center, Daniel King at right guard, and Jakai Moore at right tackle. But now, with Lindberg out and Blaske back at center, UAB transfer Jordan Hall is poised for his first start of the season on Saturday against Stanford, per sources. The 6-foot-8, 336-pound Hall made his first appearance of the season for UNC last week, and ultimately played 46 snaps at left tackle, after Blaske moved inside to center from left tackle, to fill in for Lindberg’s absence.

Thad Dixon has been considered UNC’s top defensive back and perhaps the team’s best performer on either side of the ball. He hasn’t played since suffering an injury five weeks ago on Oct. 4, late in the first half against Clemson. Dixon wasn’t in uniform again last week at Syracuse, but he seemed particularly upbeat while moving around fairly freely on the field during the pregame, as the Tar Heels warmed up on Halloween at the JMA Wireless Dome.

“He’s definitely getting closer,” Belichick said Tuesday, when asked about Dixon’s progress. “He’s more active than he’s been. Again, that’ll come from clearance with the doctor. It’s an internal thing that needs to be inside the body, meaning it needs to be cleared by the doctor. So when that happens, we’ll go from there. But until that happens then he wouldn’t be able to play.”

For ACC league games this football season, availability reports are required to be submitted two nights before a game, the night before a game, and then two hours before the game’s scheduled kickoff time. For basketball and baseball games during those upcoming seasons, the ACC is requiring availability reports to be turned in the night before a game, and then two hours before the game’s scheduled tip-off time.