Jets star running back Breece Hall throws support behind Wichita flag football league

Keeping his roots in Wichita has always been important to Breece Hall, especially now that he has reached the NFL.

The 2019 Wichita Northwest graduate has had a taste of stardom after totaling 681 total yards of offense and scoring five touchdowns before suffering a season-ending ACL injury last October in his fifth game as a rookie on the New York Jets.

After football has given so much to Hall, he wants to give back to his community through the sport he loves. The plan began by throwing his support behind the Wichita Flag Football Association and sponsoring a team, which will host open try-outs for the upcoming season at 5 p.m. Saturday at Grove Park.

“A few times I’ve come back from college and gone to the flag football games and they’re pretty fun, so I thought it would be cool to sponsor a team,” Hall told The Eagle. “This is just the start. I want to help build back up the City League junior football teams. I’m going to be looking forward to doing that as well. It will take some time, but I’m excited to make it happen in the future because I think I always want to have my name tied to something in Wichita.”

Flag football in Wichita has exploded in popularity in recent years, attracting former professional, college and local high school football players to the league.

Wichita native Marcus Tuggle Jr. currently runs the WFFA league and says the 7-on-7 touch game is becoming more and more popular for players to get their competitive fill after retiring from playing football with pads. The league also tracks statistics and films video highlights to enhance the experience for players.

Tuggle said anyone with interest in potentially playing flag football in Wichita is invited to come scrimmage against teams Saturday night at Grove Park.

“I think it’s growing because it’s way more safe and anyone can play, men or women,” Tuggle said. “A few years ago our league was mostly older players, but we’re starting to see more youth come out and start to play. That’s our goal is to get more younger kids to come out and start playing.

“Breece’s support is a huge help because he’s such a big name in our city. He could be anywhere and put his name somewhere else in a bigger market, but he chose to come back home and help us out. That’s dope to see someone show his hometown love and understand what we’re building and want to try to help us do better.”

While flag football is his focus for now, Hall was excited about the possibility of helping boost the Wichita junior football league.

After falling in love with the game playing for coach Andrew Roy on the Wichita Bears, Hall said he hopes the next generation of football stars in Wichita can have the same opportunity that he did in the junior league. Hall went on to become a standout running back for Wichita Northwest, leading the Grizzlies to

“I want to find a way to get some legit coaches, some assistants, some team moms, stuff like that to bring it back for kids so they don’t have to go looking for it somewhere else,” Hall said. “I want them to have it right here in Wichita because I played in that same league and that’s how I came up, playing City League football.”

That’s a project for the future.

In the present, Hall is focused on completing his rehabilitation eight months out from his surgery. He figures to once again be the starting running back for the Jets, which added quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the offseason to bolster their chances of making a postseason run.

Jets open training camp in Florham Park, N.J. on July 22 and play their first preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on August 3. Hall said he plans to be ready in time for the team’s regular-season opening game on Sept. 11 against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.

“I’ve been doing pretty good,” Hall said. “I’ve never really had an injury like that before, so it definitely humbled me and made me appreciate what I have. Just going through this process has made me a lot stronger, mentally and physically, and I can’t wait to get back out there on the field.”