ISU’s Breece Hall repeats at Big 12 player of year

From Iowa State Sports Information

IRVING, Texas — Iowa State’s Breece Hall did it again.

The Cyclone junior is the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row, the league announced Thursday.

Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald IV was named the Big 12’s Co-Defensive Linemen of the Year.

Hall is in elite company as a repeat winner, joining Heisman Trophy winners Ricky Williams (Texas, 1997-98), Jason White (Oklahoma, 2003-04) and Baker Mayfield (2015, 2017) as the only players to earn the honor multiple times.

A Doak Walker Award finalist, Hall had another outstanding season, leading the nation in scoring (138), total touchdowns (23) and rushing touchdowns (20).

Hall leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally in rushing yards per game (122.7), becoming the ninth player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard plateau in multiple seasons.

A native of Wichita, Kan., Hall rushed for more than 100 yards in seven games and tallied more than 200 yards three times, including a career-high 281 against TCU.

He is Iowa State’s all-time career leader in scoring (336), touchdowns (56) and rushing touchdowns (50), ranking fourth in Big 12 history in total touchdowns.

In his last 32 games, Hall has recorded 56 touchdowns and been over 100 yards from scrimmage 27 times.

Hall made history against TCU on Friday when he rushed for a touchdown in his 24th consecutive game, breaking the NCAA FBS record.

Hall also showed his versatility by catching 36 passes for 302 yards out of the backfield.

McDonald IV has wreaked havoc on opposing offenses the last two years, leading the Big 12 in sacks in back-to-back seasons. McDonald broke his own school record for sacks in a season in 2021 (11.5) and his 0.96 sacks per game average ranks seventh nationally.

A native of Pewaukee, Wis., McDonald IV is ISU’s all-time career leader in sacks with 29.0, the fourth-most in Big 12 history. He’s recorded 27.0 sacks in his last 28 games.

McDonald IV also has 14.0 TFL on the year, tying for ninth in school history, and his 34.5 career TFL ranks third in school history.

A total of 19 Cyclones received postseason honors for their performances on the field in 2021, including eight named first-team and four to the second-teame.

First-team picks were Hall and McDonald, as well as OL Trevor Downing, WR Xavier Hutchinson, TE Charlie Kolar, LB Mike Rose, FB Jared Rus, and DL Eyioma Uwazurike.

Second-team picks were TE Chase Allen, OL Colin Newell, QB Brock Purdy and DB Isheem Young.

Greg Eisworth II (DB), Beau Freyler (DB), Jake Hummel (LB), Anthony Johnson Jr. (DB), Andrew Mevis (PK), Zach Petersen (DE) and Darrell Simmons Jr. (OL) were honorable mention.