MORGANTOWN, W.Va — Breece Hall may have given Iowa State the dependable option at running back the Cyclones have been looking for since star David Montgomery left.
The freshman rushed for 132 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Iowa State to a 38-14 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night in a game in which the Mountaineers lost quarterback Austin Kendall to injury.
Hall scored on a pair of 1-yard runs in the second and fourth quarters and also had a 12-yard TD in the third quarter.
“He certainly did a great job tonight and hopefully he can build on that,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “I expect that he would.”
The 205-pound Hall is the third different running back to lead the Cyclones (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) in rushing this season and the first to eclipse 100 yards. Quarterback Brock Purdy had 102 yards a week ago against TCU.
Johnnie Lang started Saturday’s game and had four carries for 11 yards before giving way to Hall, who entered the game fifth on the team with 84 rushing yards on 18 carries.
“Breece just brings a lot to the table,” said Iowa State wide receiver La’Michael Pettway. “He’s physical. He can move. I like his feet. He’s got a quick twitch and he’s smart. With Breece just being a freshman he still has a lot to learn so that can be scary.”
The takeaway
Iowa State: Hall’s performance will help the Cyclones take the running load off of Purdy, who entered the game with the most carries on the team.
