Peterson: Breece Hall can relate to what former roommate Brock Purdy is going through
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AMES – Brock Purdy a surprise? Not on your life, says one of the guys who knows him best. And as a matter of fact, quite the opposite.
“This whole season … I knew he was good for it the whole time, (after) what we had to go through while we were here – all the ups and downs, and being the face of the program,” former Iowa State running back great Breece Hall said during a visit to Hilton Coliseum on Saturday. “I knew he was going to be good.”
More:Peterson: Inside the off-the-field lives of Iowa State stars Brock Purdy, Breece Hall and Mike Rose
Hall and Purdy played in the same backfield in 36 games while leading Iowa State to national relevance. They know each other’s every move, so when an injury last December forced the NFL draft’s final selection to be the San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback – no way was Hall surprised. When he saw the 49ers get within a win of reaching this weekend’s Super Bowl – he wasn’t all that surprised that one of his best college friends had something to do with it.
“I knew he’d be good. He just needed a chance,” Hall said of Purdy. “He’d been through adversity before. I was super happy for him. I was more happy for him than I was for myself.”
What else did Iowa State’s two-time 1,000-yard rusher say before sitting courtside for Saturday’s victory over Kansas at Hilton Coliseum?
The Breece Hall and Brock Purdy bond
College roommates. College teammates. Great friends. Same draft year.
And now both are recovering from major injuries.
“I felt so bad for Brock,” Hall said. “Me and him have texted a few times. I know he’s feeling the same way I was feeling, right now, for sure. It was a bummer. I wanted to see him make it to the promised land.”
Purdy might be sidelined up to nine months after suffering a complete tear of an elbow ligament on the first possession of the NFC championship game. Hall watched and cringed right along with everyone else who followed the career of the guy who holds most of Iowa State’s quarterback records.
Hall knows what his former roomie is going through. He was injured in October, just seven games into his rookie season. He had 66 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers, followed by 97 yards on 18 carries (and two receptions totaling 100 yards) against Miami, and then a 116-yard game against Green Bay.
His career was looking up. Some people mentioned potential rookie of the year. He did nothing to silence that chatter after rushing for 72 yards on just 12 carries against Denver, and then it happened.
Torn ACL. Out for the remaining 10 games. Like Purdy, Hall didn’t have a history of prolonged injuries.
“It was frustrating,” Hall said Saturday. “I felt blessed that I was able to show everybody before I got hurt.”
More:Peterson: Breece Hall’s parting words to Iowa State football fans — 'I’ll always be a Cyclone'
He showed everyone all right. Now it’s about recovery. He told Jets reporters last week that he’s ahead of schedule. Saturday, he outlined some of the rehab he’s undergoing back at the Jets facility.
“I’m doing really good,” said Hall, who expects to be ready for training camp. “I’m starting to run. I’m doing more running stuff in the pool − trying to do more movement stuff; single-leg balance. It gets really frustrating, because I can’t do the same things I used to do yet. It’s just a process.
“After I got hurt, you go through that early phase of ‘Why me, why me, why did it have to happen to me?’ It got to a point where I had to deal with it, and do what I had to do.”
Hall likes Nate Scheelhaase as the offensive coordinator
Nate Scheelhaase is Hall’s former position coach and the assistant coach who recruited him to Ames. Hall was all-in when he heard Matt Campbell named the 32-year-old to replace offensive coordinator Tom Manning.
“I think he’s going to be great,” Hall said. “Losing coach Manning − we had a really good relationship. This is also a great move for coach Scheelhaase. I know how dedicated he is to making this offense as explosive as possible – the best it can be. I think with him, we’ll be able to do that.”
Hall had his best season, with 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns, with Scheelhaase in charge of the running game.
Who’s the starting quarterback?
Veteran Hunter Dekkers will be No. 1 heading into spring, and speaking of the junior-to-be – he was one of the first on Hall’s to-see list once arriving in town last Friday night.
“I talked to a few of the guys − we hung out at Hunter Dekkers’ place for a while, just chilling, catching up and having fun,” Hall said.
Four Cyclones were picked in the last draft. Hall knows at least two more will be picked in the upcoming draft.
Hall reflected on former teamma and soon-to-be NFL rookies Will McDonald and Xavier Hutchinson.
“Yeah, it’s crazy because they’re both older than me, you know,” he said. “I just remember coming in as a little freshman, and seeing Will balling out as a freshman, and seeing X come in from (junior college), and him being real mature, and us having a good relationship.
“I’m real close with both of them, but it’s just crazy, because I’m younger than them − they’re older than me. I (saw) them at the Senior Bowl, balling out. I am excited for them. I think they showed a lot this year and at the Senior Bowl practices.”
Some of the most recent mock drafts have McDonald going as high as the second round, and Hutchinson going to someone as a top 100 pick.
“I think they’re going to surprise a lot of people with how much they jump in the draft,” Hall said.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, and on Twitter @RandyPete
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Iowa State great Breece Hall says Purdy's success was no surprise
