Who would I choose between Tyler Goodson and Breece Hall? Either one
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Breece Hall or Tyler Goodson?
That question was posed to me shortly after Hall had rushed for 139 yards, and the go-ahead touchdown, during Iowa State’s 37-30 victory over Oklahoma this past Saturday in Ames.
In this case, there is no wrong answer because both sophomore running backs are special in their own way.
Goodson last season became the first true freshman to ever lead the Iowa football team in rushing, finishing with 638 yards and five touchdowns on 134 attempts.
The Georgia native began the 2019 season no higher than fourth on the depth chart and was listed behind three proven juniors in Mekhi Sargent, Toren Young and Ivory Kelly-Martin.
Goodson showed a knack right away for making big plays, and that earned him more playing time as the season progressed. He made his first start against No. 7 Minnesota in the 10th game and played a key role during the 23-19 victory at Kinnick Stadium with 93 rushing yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run.
Goodson often left defenders grabbing for air and he might be Iowa’s most elusive running back since Tavian Banks, who played from 1994-97.
The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Goodson is also a capable receiver, and he improved as a blocker in pass protection with more playing time.
Goodson is smaller than the 6-1, 215-pound Hall, and doesn’t run with quite as much power, from what I can tell.
But Goodson is more elusive than Hall, and they’re both capable receivers.
Iowa offered scholarships to both Goodson and Hall during the recruiting process.
Hall is from Wichita, Kan., and he picked Iowa State over Iowa, Baylor, Kansas State, Michigan, Nebraska and Tennessee according to the Iowa State media guide.
Goodson had at least 32 scholarship offers, according to Rivals, including one from Iowa State. Other schools that offered Goodson include Nebraska, Michigan State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Syracuse, Washington State and West Virginia.
Goodson would fit nicely in Iowa State’s offense, while Hall would fit nicely in Iowa’s offense. Both players are talented enough to where they could fit into any type of offensive scheme.
It’s unfortunate that Iowa and Iowa State won’t face each other this season due to COVID-19’s impact on scheduling because the game would have had the makings of a classic.
And one of the featured matchups would have been the two starting sophomore running backs who had scholarship offers from both schools.
Goodson’s sophomore season will start against Purdue on Oct. 24 in West Lafayette, Ind., and look for him to pick up where he left off last season.
Goodson has the luxury of playing with a deep and talented group of receivers, while Hall has the luxury of playing with one of best group of tight ends in the country.
The state of Iowa is lucky to have both of them representing the two Power 5 programs from within the state.
Both teams had to win a tough recruiting battle to get a running back that so many others coveted, and now both teams are being rewarded for it.
FILLING KINNICK STADIUM: Now for something completely different.
We have a tradition on the Hawk Fanatic/KCJJ radio show and podcast of asking our guests with Hawkeye connections who they would pick as a musical act or performer to fill Kinnick Stadium.
It is always the last question that we ask.
Former Iowa star hurdler Aaron Mallett was our most recent guest and he picked American rapper, J. Cole to fill Kinnick Stadium.
Much like with trying to choose between Goodson and Hall, there is no right or wrong answer.
It’s one person’s opinion.
Some acts might have a better chance of filling Kinnick due to their popularity, but it still comes down to a person’s opinion.
Margaret McCaffery was also a recent guest on our show, and she picked James Taylor without much hesitation.
Her husband, Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery, picked Bruce Springsteen to fill Kinnick Stadium, as did Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz.
Here are some other notable picks:
Luka Garza – Drake
Lisa Bluder – Fleetwood Mac
Tom Brands – Dwight Yoakam
Megan Gustafson – Iowa Pep Band.
Spencer Lee – theme from Pokemon
Gustafson actually gave the same answer twice, showing her true spirit as a Hawkeye.
Lee couldn’t think of an answer because he said he rarely listens to music, so he settled on the theme from Pokemon due to his love of the game.