A closer look at the 2017 Iowa football team, which now includes Akrum Wadley
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The only bright side of being crushed in a bowl game is that there is always next season.
And for the Iowa football program, this next season hardly looks like a disaster waiting to happen despite what happened in the Outback Bowl on Monday. Especially with star running back Akrum Wadley now definitely returning for his senior season. Wadley made the announcement Thursday afternoon, giving Iowa an explosive 1,000-yard rusher to build the offense around.
The Hawkeyes won eight games this season despite having one of the worst passing attacks in program history. The most celebrated win was the 14-13 victory over Michigan on Nov. 12 at Kinnick Stadium, a game in which Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard threw for just 66 yards.
Iowa is built right now to win six to eight games every season at this stage under Kirk Ferentz, who just completed his 18th season as head coach. Those six to eight wins are based on several factors, including the schedule, Iowa’s talent, luck and the law of averages.
Iowa’s 2017 schedule might be tougher than usual, though.
Wyoming will be no pushover in the season opener after finishing 8-6 this past season under Craig Bohl, who prior to coaching the Cowboys built North Dakota State into an FCS power.
Iowa State also showed a pulse late in Matt Campbell’s debut season and now gets to face Iowa in Ames next season. The Cyclones performed woefully in losing to Iowa 42-3 this season. But if we’ve learned anything about the Iowa-Iowa State football rivalry, it’s never to assume anything and to realize that what happened in the previous game has nothing to do with the current circumstances.
Road games at Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Nebraska certainly won’t be easy for the 2017 Hawkeyes, nor will facing Penn State and Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium.
Those are eight games on a 12-game schedule that look troublesome.
The good news is that Iowa returns eight starters on defense, including all three linebackers, four full-time starters on the offensive line and eight offensive linemen overall who started at least one game this season, standout receiver Matt VandeBerg, and one of the most exciting running backs in the Ferentz era in Wadley.
With Wadley, Iowa has the potential for a dynamic rushing attack with big-play capability. Without him, Iowa would have been a mystery at running back next season.
Derrick Mitchell Jr., has shown flashes at running back, but just can’t stay healthy. The St. Louis native only appeared briefly in five games this season and has missed at least eight games with injuries over the past three seasons.
Toks Akrinibade played running back as a true freshman this season, but not enough to know what he truly brings to the offense.
The same with quarterback Nate Stanley, who quickly ascended to No. 2 on the depth this season shortly after arriving on campus as a true freshman.
Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis speaks highly of the 6-foot-5, 212-pound Stanley, but we still haven’t seen enough of Stanley to know for sure that he will be a strength at quarterback next season.
VandeBerg’s presence at receiver should provide a huge spark, but he can’t do it alone. Junior-to-be Jerminic Smith is a willing and capable blocker, but he hasn’t developed into a reliable receiver yet, nor has Jay Scheel, whose preseason hype far outweighed his five catches for 56 yards this season.
Tight end is a concern simply because George Kittle isn’t around anymore. There are plenty of candidates, including Noah Fant and Peter Pekar, but Iowa’s returning tight ends have combined for just 10 catches, nine by Fant.
As for the defense, it's always encouraging to have eight returning starters, but losing all-everything cornerback Desmond King and all-Big Ten tackle Jaleel Johnson is a concern. Greg Mabin also started for three seasons at cornerback opposite of King, but has now used up his eligibility.
True freshman Manny Rugamba filled in admirably in the final three Big Ten games after Mabin was injured. But it's reaonable to expect a decline at a position where a four-year starter and a three-year starter have to replaced.
Punter is another concern now that one-year wonder Ron Coluzzi has come and gone, much like a comet that shines brightly before vanishing. Coluzzi was a force this season, constanly shifting field position and pratically eliminating kick returns with 42 touchbacks in 60 kickoffs.
Keith Duncan returns at kicker and will forever be a hero for making the game-winning field goal against Michigan. But he also lacks range at this stage, while Iowa’s long-range kicker, Miguel Recinos, missed on two of his three attempts from beyond 40 yards this season.
There is a lot to like about the 2017 Iowa team, especially with Wadley now on board, but also enough concerns to temper the enthusiasm.
That’s why it’s always safe to predict a 7-5 record for the Iowa football team and that’s where I see the 2017 squad at this point. I probably could be talked into eight wins with Wadley now returning. Barring an injury, his impact should be huge next season.
The 2017 Iowa football team at a glance
Returning starters
Offense (8)
Matt VandeBerg, Sr., receiver; Jerminic Smith, Jr., receiver; Boone Myers, Sr., offensive lineman; Sean Welsh, Sr., offensive lineman, Ike Boettger, Sr., offensive lineman; James Daniels, Jr., center; Akrum Wadley, Sr., running back, Drake Kulick, Sr., fullback
Defense (8)
Matt Nelson, Jr., end; Nathan Bazata, Sr., tackle, Parker Hesse, Jr., end; Josey Jewell, Sr., middle linebacker; Ben Niemann, Sr., outside linebacker; Bo Bower, Sr., will linebacker; Brandon Snyder, Jr., free safety; Miles Taylor, Sr., strong safety.
Special teams
Keith Duncan, Soph., kicker
Part-time returning starters from 2016
Offense
Keegan Render, Jr., offensive line, seven starts
Lucas LeGrand, Jr., center, two starts
Levi Paulsen, Soph., offensive line, one start at right guard
Peter Pekar, Sr., tight end, five starts
Nate Wieting, Soph., tight end, two starts
Jay Scheel, Jr., receiver, one start against Nebraska
Defense
Anthony Nelson, Soph., defensive end, one start against Iowa State
Manny Rugamba, Soph. cornerback, started final three regular-season games
Key losses
Offense
C.J. Beathard, quarterback, 21-7 record as a starter
LeShun Daniels, running back, rushed for 1,058 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in 2016
Cole Croston, offensive line, third-team all-Big Ten by the coaches in 2016 despite injuries
Defense
Desmond King, cornerback, return specialist, twice made first-team all-Big Ten and won the 2015 Jim Thorpe Award
Jaleel Johnson, defensive tackle, first-team all-Big Ten as a senior
Greg Mabin, cornerback, three-year starter at cornerback
Faith Ekakitie, defensive tackle, part of a three-man rotation this season
Special teams
Ron Coluzzi, punter/kickoffs, averaged 41.2 yards on 68 punts and 40 of his 62 kicks in the regular season were touchbacks
Returning statistical leaders
Rushing: Akrum Wadley, 1081 yards
Receiving yards: Wadley, 315; Jerminic Smith, 314; Matt VandeBerg, 294
Receptions: Wadley, 36, Smith 23
Touchdowns: Wadley, 13
Tackles: Josey Jewell, 124; Bo Bower, 91; Brandon Snyder, 85, Ben Niemann 69
Interceptions: Brandon Snyder, three
2017 Iowa football schedule
Date, opponent, site
Sept. 2 – Wyoming, Kinnick Stadium
Sept. 9 – Iowa State, Jack Trice Stadium, Ames
Sept. 16 – North Texas, Kinnick Stadium
Sept. 23 – Penn State, Kinnick Stadium
Sept. 30 – Michigan State, Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Mich.
Oct. 7 – llinois, Kinnick Stadium
Oct. 14 – Off
Oct. 21 – Northwestern, Ryan Field, Evanston, Ill.
Oct. 28 – Minnesota, Kinnick Stadium
Nov. 4 – Ohio State, Kinnick Stadium
Nov. 11 – Wisconsin, Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wis.
Nov. 18 – Purdue, Kinnick Stadium
Nov. 24 – Nebraska, Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Neb.