Wichita in the NFL
Wichita is underrated when it comes to our athletes, but we also need to do a better job of building up those who are making a name for themselves and for Wichita.
There are several people from Wichita who have made it big but aren't household names around town. Let's build these people up to give our kids something to shoot for. This is what #JustaKidfromWichita is all about.
In the meantime, let's take a look at the current Wichita kids in the pros.
Breece Hall (5'11" 220lbs)
Position: RB
High School: Wichita Northwest High School (2019)
College: Iowa State (2021)
NFL Draft: 2022 / Rd 2 / Pick 36
Current NFL Team: New York Jets
Breece is coming off a hot sophomore year which followed up a hot rookie year where he would have won Rookie of the Year (in my opinion) had he not suffered a season-ending injury.
His 2nd year in the league he was just 6 yards shy of 1000 rushing yards.
For you fantasy football folks, many of the top lists have him as a first-round pick (if not top 5 overall pick) and with Aaron Rodgers back, I can only imagine what his ceiling is.
Looking back at his college career, he set the NCAA record last year with a rushing touchdown in 24 straight games.
High School Senior Year Stats: 105 yards passing, 220 carries, 2127 yards, 20 catches for 588 yards
Jordan Phillips (6'6" 330lbs)
Position: DT
High School: Circle High School (2011)
College: Oklahoma (2014)
NFL Draft: 2015 / Rd 2 / Pick 52
Current NFL Team: New York Giants
Past NFL Teams:
I played against Jordan Phillips in high school a couple of times.
In Kansas, varsity games are on Fridays and Freshman / JV games are on the Monday following the Varsity game. In my freshman year, we played against Circle and Jordan during the Monday freshman game. Circle wasn't very good, but Jordan dominated our varsity O-line on Friday and then proceeded to play against our freshman team. Needless to say, he was huge.
I also played against him in baseball and watched my friends play him in basketball. For a big dude, he could MOVE.
Jordan was a 5-star recruit (Scout.com) / 4-star recruit (rivals.com).
High School Senior Year Stats: 8 carriers for 33 yards, 17 catches for 400 yards, 68 tackles (59 solo, 9 asst), 17 TFL, 8.5 sacks, 1 int, 2 Fumble Recoveries, 3 Fumbles Caused
Ben Powers (6'4" 310lbs)
Position: G
High School: Kapaun (2016)
College: Butler Community College, Oklahoma (2019)
NFL Draft: 2019 / Rd 4 / Pick 123
Current NFL Team: Denver Broncos
Past NFL Teams:
Ben Powers signed a four-year $51.5 million contract on March 16, 2023 with the Broncos.
Ben wasn't just a stud football player in high school, but also a stud wrestler. He finished 2nd in state wrestling. He did not have any major college football offers after high school but went to Butler Community College for 1 year before making his way to Oklahoma.
Other Recent NFL Players
Blake Bell (6'6" 252lbs)
Position: TE
High School: Bishop Carroll (2010)
College: Oklahoma (2015)
NFL Draft: 2015 / Rd 4 / Pick 117
Current NFL Team: Free Agent (from what I could find)
Most Recent NFL Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Past NFL Teams:
Put some respect on this 3x Super Bowl Champions name.
The Belldozer was a stand out at Bishop Carroll. I never played against Blake, but he was a big name in the Wichita area back then. He comes from NFL lineage as his dad, Mark Bell, played for the Seahawks, Ravens, and Colts and his uncle, Mike Bell, played for the Chiefs.
High School Senior Year Stats: 66.6% completion percentage, 2752 passing yards, 32 touchdowns
He was also drafted in the 43rd round of the 2010 MLB Draft.
Davontae Harris (5'11" 200lbs)
Position: CB
High School: Wichita South (2013)
College: Illinois State (2018)
NFL Draft: 2018 / Rd 5 / Pick 151
Current NFL Team: Free Agent
Past NFL Teams:
Davontae is the self-proclaimed Wichita Kid and loves to give back to the community through the Wichita Kid Foundation. I had the opportunity to interview Davontae Harris a couple of years ago and he's the real deal, as well as an incredibly nice guy.
Davontae missed most of his senior year in high school due to a surgery but had a great junior season.
High School Junior Year Stats: 40 tackles, 5 ints, 15 pass breakups.
He also placed 3rd in the 100-meter dash and 6th in the 200-meter dash.
BJ Finney
Position: G
High School: Andale High School
College: Kansas State
NFL Draft: 2018 / Rd 5 / Pick 151
BJ Finney had a great career at K-State before playing for the Steelers. He medically retired on June 7, 2022.
Other Greats
Wichita has had a ton of other incredible football players make it to the pros including:
Did I miss anyone? I hope we can continue to celebrate the success of our own as they put our city on the map. There should be a lot more Breece Hall and Blake Bell jerseys around town.
Also, why isn't there a Barry Sanders statue somewhere? The greatest running back of all time is from Wichita and no statue?!
