By Tyler Devine

LINCOLN, Neb. – From virtually unwanted out of high school, to ball security issues early in his career, to back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, Akrum Wadley has had quite the journey through the Iowa football program.

Iowa’s senior running back capped his journey by surpassing 1,000 yards rushing for the second consecutive season during Iowa’s 56-14 drubbing of Nebraska on Friday. 

He is the first Iowa player to do so since Fred Russell in 2002-03. Wadley also passed Russell for fourth on Iowa's all-time rushing list.

The only other players to have done so are Sedrick Shaw and Ladell Betts.

Wadley needed 138 yards coming into Friday’s game to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. 

He did that and more, rushing for 159 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. He is just the third opposing player in the last 20 years to rush for 150 yards and three touchdowns in Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium.

“It’s big time,” Wadley said. “It’s big time. I’m speechless, you know. I set all my goals at the beginning of the season and my goal was to get over 1,000. I didn’t get as much as my goal was but to be a back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher, that’s big time for me.”

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The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Wadley passed the mark on a 29-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that put Iowa ahead 35-14 and all but sealed its seventh win of the season.

The touchdown was Wadley’s third of the day and the 34th of his career, putting him ahead of Mark Weisman for third in career touchdowns.

Junior center James Daniels said he wasn’t sure how many yards Wadley needed to surpass 1,000 on the season, but told Wadley that he and the rest of the offensive line would get him there.

“I told him that and he believed me,” Daniels said. “He was like, ‘let’s go’. I’m not sure how many yards he needed but once he looked up and saw at the end of the game and said he got it. It was pretty cool.”

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Wadley's career got off to a rocky start. He struggled to hold onto the ball and plummeted down the depth chart.

Things changed in 2015 when he was thrust into the lineup due to injuries and exploded for 204 yards and four touchdowns against Northwestern.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said Wadley’s never-say-die attitude is what allowed him to overcome adversity and etch his name into the annals of Iowa history.

“The one thing about him from day one is he’s a guy with a good attitude,” Ferentz said. “He was really skinny, he’s got a good attitude and likes football and everything. It was just a matter from working on things week by week, day by day, month by month, however you want to look at it.

“We weren’t sure how it was going to turn out but the guy’s got ability and Akrum’s a good guy. That Northwestern game just seemed like the turning point in his career.

“At some point everybody’s got that, not everybody, but some players have that moment where things finally become more apparent to them and what they need to do. He’s been a big part of our success the last two years.”

Injury report: Sophomore strong safety Amani Hooker missed his third consecutive game with an undisclosed leg injury.

The 6-foot, 210-pound Hooker has started five games this season and ranked fourth on the team with 44 tackles coming into Friday’s game.

Senior strong safety Miles Taylor, who Hooker replaced after Iowa’s third game, has started the last three games in place of Hooker.

The 5-foot-10, 203-pound Taylor suffered a similar fate to Hooker in the first quarter.

Taylor left the game and would return to the sideline but was seen limping with his left knee heavily wrapped.

Freshman Geno Stone would replace Taylor for the rest of the game.

Stone would finish the game tied with senior linebacker Josey Jewell for the team lead with eight tackles.

Freshman cornerback Matt Hankins also got his first career start, recording five tackles and a pass break up.

The eight tackles were a career high for the 6-foot, 195-pound Stone.

Stone almost didn’t make it to Iowa, but luckily his mother intervened and forced him to make a visit to Iowa.

Stone had previously been committed to Kent State but changed his commitment to Iowa just before national signing day.

“I just got off the phone, I wanted to thank Geno’s mom,” Ferentz said. “When we were trying to get him out here for his visit last January he didn’t want to come. She and the high school coach basically threw him in the car and made him come out here. You know Pittsburgh-ers, you’ve got to watch those guys.

“Miles has been playing a little hurt and had to come out and Geno didn’t look back so really happy for him. Hankins out there the same way. He did a really nice job.”

One away: Ferentz recorded his 142nd win at Iowa, becoming one win shy of tying Hayden Fry as the Hawkeyes’ all-time winningest football coach.

Fry achieved the milestone in 238 games. Ferentz has the opportunity to achieve the milestone in 10 less games than Fry.

Iowa's bowl game will be Ferentz's 228th game coached at Iowa.

Happy homecoming: Friday was a happy homecoming for sophomore tight end Noah Fant, a native of Omaha, Neb. and senior defensive tackle Nathan Bazata, a native of Howells, Neb.

Fant and Bazata are the only two Nebraska natives on the Iowa roster.

The 6-foot-5, 232-pound Fant finished with 116 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions.

Fant has 28 receptions on the season, including a single-season record 10 touchdowns. 25 of his 28 catches have resulted in either a first down or a touchdown.

The 6-foot-2, 287-pound Bazata recorded three tackles including one tackle for loss, which occurred on a fake field goal attempt by Nebraska.

“It was pretty sweet going out like that, especially in your home state,” Bazata said. “There was a lot of motivation behind us getting back up on our feet. We took one to the chin last week and it was a matter of are we going to get up and compete or are we just going to roll over and we just came and executed today.

“It got a little emotional in there. I was just excited that we won and put up that many points.”

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Elliott honored: Former Iowa player and assistant coach Bob Elliott was honored after the first quarter on Friday.

Elliott passed away in July after being hired in February to coach safeties at Nebraska.

Elliott began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Iowa in 1976 and returned as an assistant coach from 1987 to 1998.

Elliot’s uncle, Bump Elliott, was the athletic director at Iowa from 1970 to 1999.

Money, money, money: Besides impacting the win-loss column, Friday’s win also had financial implications for Ferentz and his staff.

With the win, Ferentz adds $2.4 million to his buyout and his assistants receive an eight percent bonus.

If Iowa wins its bowl game, Ferentz will be given a bonus of $500,000 and if he is Iowa’s head coach on Jan. 31 he will receive a $650,000 bonus.

Ferentz’s contract reads: “The University will find an average salary increase of 8% for the nine on-field assistant coaches as well as the Head Strength Coach, the top Assistant Strength coach and the Director of Football Operations on July 1 after any season in which the team finished with at least 7 wins, participated in a post-season bowl game and achieved a Graduation Success Rate of at least 67.5% in the most recent calculation period.”

Highs and firsts: It took 12 games and 12 yards for graduate transfer running back James Butler to score his first touchdown as a Hawkeye.

The 5-foot-9, 210-pound Butler increased Iowa’s lead to 28-14 in the third quarter with the 12-yard touchdown run.

“I knew how much it meant to the guys on our team and the fullbacks for me to get one in today and I'm glad I could," Butler said.

Senior linebacker Ben Niemann also intercepted his first pass of the season.

Going bowling: Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said after the game that he didn't know which bowl game Iowa would end up playing in, but did indicate that four are still in play.

Iowa has been projected to play in either the Holiday Bowl, Foster Farms Bowl, Music City Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl.

Barta did indicate that the Holiday Bowl seemed to be the least likely destination for Iowa.

"I know most of the bowl executives," Barta said. "I've been talking to them throughout the year, I talk to them every year. The good news is the Hawkeye fans have such a great reputation and Kirk has a great reputation. I don't want to say that it's a forgone conclusion but they already know who we are and so this win today just gives us that kind of momentum to get to some of those bowls.

"I don't know where we're going but I think we still have a shot at the Holiday Bowl and then (the Music City Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl)."