INDIANAPOLIS – Most of his fellow Ohio State underclassmen decided to return for their senior season.

That was tempting to Mike Hall Jr., but as important as OSU's brotherhood is to the defensive tackle, fatherhood means more.

On Sept. 15, Hall became a dad to Michael Hall III, nicknamed Trey. The urgency to provide for his family caused Hall to declare for the NFL draft.

"Those guys made their decision after I made my decision," Hall said at the NFL combine Wednesday. "I wish those guys the best. I love my brothers to death. But I had to do what was best for Mike Hall."

Trey was born in Columbus the day before the Western Kentucky game. Hall left Ohio State's walk-through practice on Friday to go to the hospital for the birth, grabbed a few hours of sleep overnight, and then returned to the team hotel for the game.

“It was very tough,” Hall said. “But my focus was is still on the game. Yes, I had my son, but I worked Monday to Friday with my guys and why would I let my guys down?”

But Hall knew his life would never be the same.

“I feel like it changed me as a man,” he said. “That was the day I really became a man. It's not about Mike Hall anymore. It's about my son.”

Hall is an intriguing prospect. He's undersized – OSU generously listed him at 6-foot-2 – and battled shoulder injuries in college. But he has rare explosiveness for a tackle, drawing comparisons to Aaron Donald.

“Just to be able to be compared to somebody as great as Aaron Donald is just crazy, and it's just a blessing,” he said.

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Hall was voted the top defensive lineman by fellow players at the Senior Bowl.

Hall's media interview was delayed three hours because of additional medical testing, but he said the results were all good.

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He won't participate in workouts at the combine because he said he tweaked his hamstring recently. He plans to participate in OSU's Pro Day on March 20.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football's Mike Hall Jr. on why he declared for NFL draft