Iowa State's true freshmen running backs ready to 'compete right away'

ARLINGTON, Texas — Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell still needs to see more out of his two true freshmen running backs, Breece Hall and Jirehl Brock, before deciding what kind of role they could have with the Cyclones this season.

But Campbell likes what he’s seen so far.

“Obviously those running backs are guys that look different and certainly are mature enough to come in and compete right away,” Campbell said during Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium last week.

Expectations are high for the freshmen running backs. Hall and Brock were both highly coveted four-star recruits out of high school. Hall, who checks in at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, rushed for 2,127 yards and 29 touchdowns as a high school senior. He also caught 20 passes for 588 yards and eight touchdowns. Brock, who is 5-11 and 200 pounds, ran for 2,158 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior.

Now that the two are out of high school, they find themselves battling for one of Iowa State’s biggest starting spots up for grabs: running back. David Montgomery, who started the last three years, decided to forgo his senior season at Iowa State to enter the NFL Draft. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears, leaving a giant void in Iowa State’s backfield.

Hal and Brock are both in the middle of a five-man competition for the starting spot. Also in the mix: Sheldon Croney Jr, Kene Nwangwu and Johnnie Lang. The other three have experience, but Brock and Hall are already among the biggest guys in the room. And those big bodies have made such a solid impression on Campbell that the Iowa State coach included them on the two-deep as part of the five man battle for the job.

“It’s hard to say what those guys truly are right now,” Campbell said. “I think all you see is athletic body types and I think both of those guys are very impressive body types. But until they get put into action and define what they can do well and not do well, I think it’s hard to answer.”

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Hall, who graduated high school early and enrolled early at Iowa State, already has a leg up on Brock. Hall competed in spring drills and impressed Campbell with how quickly he caught onto things.

“I think we’ve got a little bit more idea about (Hall), what he can do well, what he couldn’t do well through the spring and then those areas he didn’t do well, he made some really good adjustments going into the summer,” Campbell said. “He’s got at least a little bit of a litmus test of what he is.”

Even though Brock has had a strong summer, he’s still got to do things on a bigger stage before Campbell is ready to say where he could stand this fall.

“You’re getting him through some summer workouts and trying to make those decisions based off of summer workouts which I think that’s really hard to do,” Campbell said.

But both have done enough to prove to Campbell that he should consider them for the starting spot. And while they are the only true freshmen to appear on Iowa State’s two-deep, Campbell said others could get playing time.

Campbell called the freshmen offensive line group the best that Iowa State’s brought in. Then, there’s some players on the defensive side of the ball who have turned heads.

“Corey Suttle is a guy that when you talk about difference maker body types, (he has) shown up that way,” Campbell said. “But guys that are ready to contribute? I think that’ll be interesting. The secondary, Kym-Mani King, D.J. Miller, are both guys that are physically really mature and extremely athletic. Sometimes those guys have been able to help themselves early just because it’s a spot where the physical-ness of it maybe is a little bit different. But those guys have been really impressive so far.

“Really good class but maybe the most mature class.”