The conversation that put Iowa State's Breece Hall on the path to stardom

Editor's note: This story on NFL prospect Breece Hall was originally published in August 2019. The Iowa State star is expected to be picked in the 2022 NFL Draft. 

AMES, Ia. — It was following Breece Hall’s sophomore season in high school that his coach, Steve Martin, sat him down for a meeting.

It turned out to be life-changing. 

Martin, who always met with his players at the end of Northwest High School’s football season, had a special message for Hall, though. Hall had yet to be a big contributor. But there was a reason, and it had nothing to do with ability. 

No, Martin wasn’t playing him because he thought Hall wasn’t tapping fully into that ability.

“I said, ‘Breece, you could be the best back to ever come out of this high school, but you’re going to have to start acting like that — performing like that,’” Martin recalled. “And that meant from being in the classroom, to in the weight room and to take training seriously. As a freshman and sophomore, he probably relied on his athleticism that God gave him.”

In that December 2016 meeting, Hall sat quietly and listened. The young talent embraced Martin's challenge and began to make himself into the best running back possible.

“He was a lion,” Hall’s mom, LaRhonda McDaniel, said. “He just realized that, 'Hey, I can do something with this.'"

And he has. And, if the rumblings around Cyclones football are true, the Iowa State freshman is about to embark on something memorable in Ames. 

His relentless work ethic and natural talent made him into one of the best high school running backs in the nation. And now he finds himself in the middle of Iowa State’s running back battle to become the starter.

“He’s just a special kid,” Martin said.

'It was a light switch'

When Hall was about 7, McDaniel remembers her son — a defensive player up until then — filling in at quarterback. He quickly started making plays.

“He was throwing some amazing passes at a young age,” McDaniel said. “The team was almost undefeated.”

It was no shock. Hall has always had football around him.

His cousin, Davenport native Roger Craig, was a star in the NFL and the 1988 Offensive Player of the Year. Hall’s stepfather, Jeff Smith, played football at Nebraska and was a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

After his freshman and sophomore seasons, Hall had yet to make a major impact on his high school program. But Martin, who had watched Hall play in one of the high school’s feeder programs over the years, knew the running back had outstanding potential he just wasn’t reaching yet. 

Then came that all-important challenge. 

“He understood,” Martin said.

When Hall and his teammates came back from the holiday break in January 2017, he hit the weight room hard.

“It was a light switch,” Martin said. “It was something else. You could see it.”

Hall not only changed off the field but on it as well. During his junior season, he rushed for 2,082 yards and 32 touchdowns, averaging 10.3 yards per carry. He also caught 12 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. A year later, he rushed for 2,127 yards and 29 touchdowns, helping his team to a runner-up finish and a 12-1 record as a senior — becoming one of the nation's top running back prospects. 

“Coach Martin just telling him that you’ve got potential to do this and that, I think that kind of made him grow as a person and I think that he kind of opened doors and opened his eyes to a lot of things he probably didn’t envision,” McDaniel said.

'Diamond in the rough' 

Before Hall would go to school every day, McDaniel would have what she calls “positivity talks.” The talks were included words of encouragement with messages reminding Hall what he needs to do to be successful. There’s always been one theme to them: Be great.

“Today’s a good day to be great,’” McDaniel said she’d tell her son. “’Handle your business.’”

Hall became a four-star recruit by 247Sports and was ranked the 135th-best overall player in the nation. The night before Thanksgiving two years ago, Iowa State assistant Nate Scheelhaase, who was coaching the running backs at the time, called Martin to let him know the Cyclones were interested in Hall.

“He just said, ‘We think he’s a diamond in the rough,'’’ Martin said. “’We think he’s easily a top-five back in the country. I said, ‘Coach, you’re absolutely right. If there’s a better kid in the nation than Breece Hall right now as a junior, I want to see him.’”

Martin said Hall had around 22 scholarship offers. Michigan offered him. Oklahoma showed interest in him. So did Texas. But Iowa State landed Hall, who graduated high school early and arrived on campus in January, to headline its 2019 recruiting class.

'He's different than what we've played'

It's fitting that Hall is tasked with helping replace David Montgomery. Montgomery, Iowa State's star running back who is now in the NFL, started turning heads by breaking tackles. For the last two years, Montgomery led the nation in missed tackles.

It's a skill that Hall has mastered as well. 

"When you think he's down, he's not," McDaniel said. "I've seen him spin and move when they thought he was done and hit him and he kept going and going." 

That's part of the reason why Hall already finds himself competing for the starting job on a preseason top-25 team right away.

But it's not the only reason he may be ready for the job: Martin said his team runs a similar offense like Iowa State's with an inside zone. The main difference for Hall at Iowa State will be learning the terminology. But enrolling early has helped him get a jump-start on it. 

"Very impressed by him," Iowa State offensive coordinator Tom Manning, who also coaches the running backs, said. "Breece has done a really good job of picking up the offense." 

While some of the others battling for the running back spot have experience, Hall offers something none of them do. 

"He's big," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. "He's different than what we've played at the tailback position." 

Martin believes Hall has the potential to make an instant impact on the field and eventually become a star for the Cyclones, much like he did in high school. 

"I"m excited for Ames to see him and get behind him because he was a fan-favorite here at Northwest," Martin said. "Not because of his talent but because he was such a great kid, just a remarkable kid. I can't wait for everybody in Ames to understand that and for him to showcase that."