Iowa State coaches have been calling Breece Hall the RB1 of this draft for a long time. They’re not the most impartial judges on that topic, let’s be honest. But why wouldn’t they believe that about one of the very best players in their program’s history?
After three truly special seasons in Ames, Hall is taking his talents to New York after the Jets made him the first running back selected and No. 36 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s hoping to make as fast of an impact at the next level as he did for the Cyclones.
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Hall only needed six games to become a starter as a true freshman in 2019. He put up 256 yards in his first career start, then topped 100 in five of his next six games. There was no looking back — and no stopping him — from there.
What came next were back-to-back All-America seasons, twice earning him Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors, as he helped turn the Cyclones into contenders who achieved the seemingly near-impossible feat of playing for a Big 12 title and winning the Fiesta Bowl in 2020. During his three-year run, Hall led all running backs nationally in rushing yards (3,941), rushing touchdowns (50) and broken tackles (196). He took on a remarkable workload with 800 touches — nearly 200 more than any other Power 5 back during that span — and never slowed down.
“Breece is freaking talented,” Cyclones running game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase said. “He’s just gifted. Even his ability to run routes, his ability to catch the football, this cat can even throw it 60 yards. He’s a one-of-a-kind type of dude. You’ve seen some glimpses of that on video, but it’s real, man. It’s hard to just run away from guys. He did it for three years.”
Hall set 11 school records along the way and set a new NCAA record by scoring a rushing touchdown in 24 consecutive games. He led the country in rushing in 2020 (1,572 yards) and followed that up by being just as productive as a junior with 1,774 total yards and 23 scores. He’s a tough, patient and elusive runner and a proven home-run threat. Hall kept learning and kept improving every week, and the stardom that came with his success never went to his head.
“The joke we always had was every time Breece broke a record — the longest this, the most that, whatever it was — we’d add, ‘And he was the first player to do it with braces,’” Scheelhaase said. “He had braces his whole time here. That dude was the same from Day 1 until the end.”
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Hall was a program-changing type of player for Iowa State. It won’t take long for him to become a difference-maker for the Jets.
Dane Brugler on Breece Hall (No. 2 RB, No. 41 overall prospect in The Beast)
Hall posted outstanding testing numbers, but there are times on tape you wish he showed more of an escape gear. He has room to improve as a blocker and pass catcher and he doesn’t consistently play up to his testing numbers, but he runs with outstanding patience, vision and athletic footwork to be a starting-caliber back in the NFL. He projects best in a zone-based scheme (inside or outside).
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Best game? Iowa State coaches point to his final game as a Cyclone, when Hall went off for a career-high 242 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 48-14 rout of TCU. “It was like a dang video game,” Scheelhaase said. But biggest game? They’ll never forget Hall’s gritty performance in their 2020 upset of Oklahoma. The Sooners couldn’t get him down. He rushed for 139 yards that night and delivered in a bunch of key moments, including these runs to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
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“I feel like the comparison is the Colts drafting Jonathan Taylor,” Scheelhaase said. “They had a good back and good players. But he brought another element to their team and it was like, man, you didn’t realize he’d bring that much to the table. Breece has that ability to do everything you ask him to do, and he’s going to show up in big moments. You’re gonna get the one-handed catch, the 70-yard run. I think that’s the best comparison I have. Yeah, he’s gonna be able to be a starting running back in the NFL. But I really do think he’s going to be a whole lot more than that.”
Superlative
Availability: It’s an important ability. Hall did not miss a game due to injuries in his entire Iowa State career. Scheelhaase swears he never even missed a down. That’s remarkable considering he averaged almost 25 touches per game as a starter during his career.
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“To do that at running back for three years and get the ball as many times as he did? That might be more impressive than the touchdown stat,” he said. “I mean, legitimately, there wasn’t one rep of in-season practice that he missed. That dude practiced every single day. That’s as important as anything when you talk about the NFL and longevity. Everybody’s concern with a running back is, ‘How long can he last in the league?’ I can’t tell you another guy who’s been more durable than that at any position here.”
(Photo: Frank Jansky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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