KNOXVILLE -- When Chance Hall arrived at Tennessee in January, it seemed unlikely the freshman offensive lineman would be able to participate completely in spring practice for the Volunteers.
He was coming off an Achilles' tendon injury that forced him to sit out his senior season at Northside High School in Roanoke, Va.
Nearly eight months later -- and less than four weeks before the start of the season -- Hall appears to be settling into a second-team spot at left tackle.
"With Chance in the spring, he was coming off that injury, and I didn't know if we really got to evaluate his athletic skills," Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said following Monday afternoon's practice. "What I see right now I really like. I like him a lot. He's competing, he's athletic and I like him over there."
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Hall was one of five offensive linemen in Tennessee's 2015 recruiting class. He and fellow freshman Jack Jones enrolled early and went through the spring. Drew Richmond and Venzell Boulware arrived in the summer. Zach Stewart is delaying his enrollment, likely until January, for personal reasons.
In the spring, Hall played mostly guard and Jones played tackle, but now the two freshmen have traded places.
Jones is getting extensive looks at right guard, while Hall spent the fast few practices at left tackle, where Kyler Kerbyson appears to be locked in as the starter.
ESPN was the only recruiting service to rate Hall as a four-star prospect, though three services rated him as a offensive tackle.
An all-state pick in Virginia as an offensive and defensive lineman as a junior in 2013 and a double-double guy in basketball, Hall has the frame and long arms Tennessee likes in its prototypical tackles, but excellent footwork and athleticism are the keys to playing on the outside and dealing with speed-rushing defensive ends.
Hall still has to prove he can play tackle, but he looks to be on track to doing so.
"I think that's yet to be determined, really," DeBord said. "There's times you see him do things really well, and other times he hadn't learned it, I don't think. Is that a learning process, or is that he can or cannot do it? I think really it's him learning the position right now, because I really like his athleticism."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.