Iowa's Akrum Wadley puts distance on mistakes

IOWA CITY — Akrum Wadley told a story about mistakes on Tuesday at the Hansen Performance Center. Iowa's top running back prefers to keep them in the front of his mind, always.

'Everybody's going to make mistakes — I'm still human — but there's only so many mistakes you can make,' Wadley said. 'If I'm making mistakes and I'm at the top, then how would I look to the younger guys coming in?'

Wadley, who considered the NFL Draft before returning to the Hawkeyes for his senior season, remembered back to when he was first on campus and trying to break into the running back rotation — much like Toren Young and Toks Akinribade are doing now.

He talked about guys like Mark Weisman and LeShun Daniels, who didn't make mistakes. He called Weisman 'a machine,' who never made 'one mental mistake on the field.' He called Daniels a sponge, saying, 'you ask LeShun Daniels something, he spits it right out.'

Wadley contrasted that with his own experience, which was one of struggling at first. His anecdote, from early in his college career, still made him cover his face now — as the star of the backfield.

'My turning point out there in Kinnick; I can't think of the practice but the play was a drag, I was supposed to run a drag across the field,' Wadley said. 'I went the opposite way. If I would've caught the ball I probably would've scored on a 50-yard run. There was nobody around. I went the wrong way. The QB, in a real game, would've gotten his head taken off.

'I was embarrassed. I was trying to make a name for myself. (Former assistant) coach (Chris) White, he let me have it.'

The Newark, N.J., product doesn't make too many mistakes anymore, but like he said, he had to learn the hard way.

Along the path of amassing 2,171 career yards from scrimmage — including 1,396 last season, with 1,081 on the ground and 315 receiving — there were bumps in the road. There was his freshman season in 2014, in which he fumbled three times in 33 carries. Then, after another fumble against Illinois State in 2015, he was benched and briefly moved to defensive back.

It was a long road between then and now, to a place where he feels like coaches can rely on him without a doubt — the fumbling seemingly a thing of the past.

Still, he keeps that stuff fresh on his mind because he's no longer the one who has someone to look up to. He said all those mistakes feel 'like yesterday. You ask me anything, I can talk about it. I know it, just like yesterday.'

'I know it's in their best interest, speaking on the coaches, to play who gets the job done here,' Wadley said. 'Plays like that stay in my mind because things could turn around in a split second. I make one mistake, go back and make another, then I might not be the top guy anymore.'

Last season was way more about dynamic plays than it was mistakes for Wadley, who makes his offensive linemen crack up and jealous simultaneously with some of the moves he makes.

Lineman Boone Myers called Wadley a 'jitter bug out there,' and lauded his field vision. Center James Daniels admitted to breaking down into laughter mid-play against Michigan when Wadley shook a defensive back off and broke a long run.

They said Wadley makes their job easier, sure, but adds some fun into the mix as well.

'I'm not sure if he even saw the corner (at first) but he stopped and broke him off (and) I'm in the play blocking and laughing,' Daniels said. 'I like enjoying playing. I do notice things like that, but it's pretty cool to notice that in game, during a play, making a block.'

With the recent addition of graduate transfer James Butler, who ran for 1,336 yards last season and has more than 3,000 yards in three seasons at Nevada, Wadley won't be the only show in town for the Hawkeyes.

Wadley actually likened the Hawkeyes' current situation to the 2015 season in which he, Daniels Jordan Canzeri and Derrick Mitchell were what he called 'the four horsemen.' Butler joins Wadley, Young and Akinribade in the backfield, and Wadley likes the level of competition that creates.

Bringing in Butler was far from a threat in Wadley's eyes. Like keeping mistakes on the front of his mind, having another capable running back just keeps things fresh.

'Every day I've got something to prove,' Wadley said. 'Every day you give it your all. There's a lot of people that may think I'm a good running back. Some may think I'm great. Some think I'm too small. My focus is not on getting caught up in the hype or the doubters, but just doing my best and having fun. A lot of people overlook the fun part.'

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