For the first time since 2012, and for the sixth time in school history, an Iowa State Cyclone has heard their name called in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.
Running back Breece Hall, one of the most productive Cyclones in program history, was the man to snap the 10-year drought when he was selected by the New York Jets with the No. 36 overall pick on Friday.
Few players in college football over the past three seasons produced at the same level as Hall. The 6-foot-1 tailback from Wichita, Kan. tallied 4,675 yards from scrimmage and 56 touchdowns while appearing in 36 games in a Cyclone uniform.
Hall, a four-star recruit out of Wichita Northwest High School in the 2019 class, broke out in Cyclone circles as a freshman when he toted the ball 186 times for 897 yards and nine touchdowns.
He broke out on the scene nationally during the COVID shortened 2020 season by leading the nation in rushing with 1,572 yards and tallying 21 touchdowns, helping Iowa State to its first appearance in the Big 12 title game and the program’s first New Year’s Six bowl win.
That season Hall became the first unanimous All-American in the history of Iowa State football while also being named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Despite defenses tailoring nearly their entire game plan towards stopping him, Hall was equally as dominant in 2021 when he posted 1,472 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns. He was a consensus All-American for the second straight year and once again the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year, joining Baker Mayfield, Jason White and Ricky Williams as the only players to win the honor twice.
In his final game as a Cyclone, Hall set a new NCAA record by scoring a touchdown in his 25th consecutive game.
Hall’s 2020 campaign allowed him to finish sixth in Heisman Trophy voting then he finished 10th in 2021, becoming only the second player in Iowa State history, and the first since running back Troy Davis in 1995 and 1996, to finish in the top-10 for college football’s most prestigious award twice.
Hall holds or shares 10 Iowa State football records, including career total touchdowns, career rushing touchdowns and career scoring. He’s second in program history in career rushing yards, behind only Davis.
He also ranks eighth in Big 12 history in career rushing and ties for fourth in touchdowns.
Hall has been considered the consensus No. 1 running back in this class for the majority of the draft cycle, and he almost always backed that distinction up on the football field on Saturdays in Ames.
It is hard to believe he won’t do more of the same on Sundays in the Meadowlands.
