LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley: the ultimate one-two punch at running back
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – When discussing the greatest running back combinations in the history of the Iowa football program, LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley have earned the right to be in that discussion and could make a strong case for being the best.
They already are the most prolific running back duo in school history for a single season, rushing for a combined 1,979 yards this season.
Wadley is just 34 yards from making history for himself and for his team.
That’s how many yards the Newark, N.J. native needs heading into Monday’s Outback Bowl to reach 1,000 rushing yards for the season.
Iowa never has had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season, so Daniels and Wadley truly are special from a statistical standpoint.
Daniels finished the 2016 regular season with 1,013 rushing yards, becoming the first Hawkeye to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Marcus Coker in 2011.
Daniels and Wadley form a potent one-two punch with their contrasting running styles. The 225-pound Daniels excels at gaining yards after contact, while the 191-pound Wadley excels at avoiding contact.
Defenses have to adjust to each running style because tackling Daniels isn’t the same as tackling Wadley.
“When Akrum is in the game you always know that there’s a chance the play is going to break wide open,” said freshman fullback Brady Ross. “He does things that you just don’t see from most people, makes cuts that you don’t think are possible.
“They’re two entirely different backs, but they both are extremely effective and we’re really lucky to have them.”
Iowa won’t have Daniels, who is a senior, for much longer.
There is speculation the Outback Bowl will be Wadley’s last game as a Hawkeye, too, with him supposedly considering skipping his senior season to test the NFL waters.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said at a press conference on Dec. 22 that he feels Wadley needs to gain more weight and get stronger before trying to make an NFL roster.
“I’m kind of fixated on that,” said Ferentz, who spent six seasons as an NFL assistant coach in the 1990s.
Ferentz shared his feelings with Wadley during finals weeks, but speculation about Wadley’s future still persists.
You just hope that Wadley does what’s best for him. He was redshirted in 2013, so this is Wadley’s fourth year in college.
He obviously has advanced toward earning a degree or he wouldn’t have been eligible to compete in each of the past three seasons.
Much goes into having a potent one-two punch at running back, including a willingness by both players to sacrifice and share the stage.
Daniels and Wadley seem to have a genuine respect for each other. Rarely will you see one jog past the other while substituting during a game without giving a high-five or a fist-pump. Little stuff like that helps to build team chemistry.
And there is no way that Iowa could’ve saved its season by winning the last three games without having good team chemistry.
“They’re great leaders,” Ross said. “LeShun was a senior this year and his senior leadership was not only felt by the incoming freshmen running backs, but me making the transition to fullback. It’s awesome having a guy like LeShun there.
"And Akrum is the same way. As soon as Akrum transitions into his senior mode, he’s going to be a leader as well.”
Daniels and Wadley are unselfish enough to be happy for each other’s success, and smart enough to realize that they help each other in the long run.
Fatigue never should be a problem when you have a dependable sidekick to share the workload.
Daniels and Wadley have drawn comparison to Iowa’s best one-two punches at running back, dating all the way back to Bob Jeter and Willie Fleming in 1958.
Some other potent combinations include Owen Gill and Ronnie Harmon in 1984, Nick Bell and Tony Stewart in 1990, Sedrick Shaw and Tavian Banks in 1995 and 1996 and Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher in 2009.
All five of those running back combinations played for teams that finished with winning records and four of the five played for teams that won a bowl game, highlighted by Jeter and Fleming leading Iowa to a 38-12 victory over California in the 1959 Rose Bowl.
Daniels and Wadley will try to make it five bowl wins in six games for Iowa's best running back combinations, but it won’t be easy against Florida’s quick and aggressive defense.
“One thing I've always believed in any sport, if you can play defense it gives you a chance, and that's one of the reasons we were able to be successful in November,” Ferentz said. “We didn't play so well defensively the first game of the month, but then we started to do it a little bit better.
“And you look across the field and that's certainly what we're looking at, a (Florida) team that's been really good on defense the last two years, and they certainly are going to be a big foe for us that way.”
It won’t be easy for the Gators, either.
Daniels and Wadley pose a challenge for any defense while running behind an Iowa offensive line that features Daniels' younger brother James Daniels at center. You don’t accomplish what LeShun Daniels and Wadley have together without being talented and determined.
They're a big reason why the Iowa offensive line won the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation's top collegiate offensive line.
"It's a collective team effort," LeShun Daniels said.
No matter what happens in the Outback Bowl, LeShun Daniels and Wadley have secured their place among the greatest running back duos in the history of the Iowa program.
It now is just a matter of adding to their rich legacy,
LeShun Daniels
Height-wight-position: 6-0, 225, running back
Hometown: Warren, Ohio
Class: senior
Career rushing yards: 1,843
2016 rushing yards: 1,013
Akrum Wadley
Height-weight-position: 5-11, 191, running back
Hometown: Newark, N.J.
Class: junior
Career rushing yards: 1,648
2016 rushing yards: 966