Wadley’s life right now is a world-shaped ball security drill

IOWA CITY — It's really not paranoia if everyone is after you. That's kind of the whole point with Akrum Wadley carrying a football around the University of Iowa campus.

Campus? Yes, campus.

'I usually walk around campus with a football,' the sophomore running back said. 'I've been holding that high and tight, just trying to keep it high and tight. Sometimes, I put two hands on it.'

During his freshman season, Wadley fumbled three times in 33 carries. That pushed him behind senior Jordan Canzeri and junior LeShun Daniels going into this season. Three carries into this season, Wadley fumbled again.

'Just embarrassing,' he said.

So now, he carries a football around campus. This isn't a punishment handed down from coaches. This is his idea. And you know what? Wadley is now 31 carries without a major accident with the football.

With Canzeri and Daniels out with ankle injuries, Wadley helped send the No. 11 Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) into their bye week on a high, posting career highs in carries (26), yards (204) and touchdowns (four) in Iowa's victory at Northwestern. Wadley also won the Big Ten offensive player of the week.

Now, he's the No. 1 back going into Iowa's game this weekend against Maryland (2-5, 0-3). He took Tuesday off from carrying the ball around campus, too many classes he said. He likely won't stray from this strategy.

Whatever works.

By the way, players can lose the trust of the coaches. Wadley fell into that category after 2014. Three fumbles and a disorderly house ticket on the first weekend of the 2015 spring semester will do that. He also had trouble keeping his weight where coaches wanted it (the goal is 185, by the way, and Wadley was in at 184 on Tuesday).

'It's not just for guys who touch the ball,' Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'If you blow a tackle or miss a blitz pickup, your quarterback gets knocked in the head and the ball comes out. Everyone has a role in ball security. Turnover and takeaway margins are huge. If you don't respect that, it's really hard to be out there on the field. His ability hasn't kept him off the field, it's been maturity.

'. . . You do lose trust. It's not just the coaches seeing it, it's everybody. Not that we're perfect, but I think the players understand, the guys on the field right now are committed to trying to do things.

'Things are going to happen, that's football. The ball is going to come out. People are going to get hit. Guys are going to blow a coverage. When you're not totally committed to not letting it happen, that's when you lose, I think that's when teams lose their cohesiveness. Akrum has worked hard on that and it showed (against Northwestern), it clearly showed. He's been working to overcome the things that we think were concerning and that's encouraging.'

You know the old saying, 'It takes a village to help a running back fight fumbles.' That's been the idea behind Wadley and the campus ball.

No one he doesn't know has tried to knock the ball out of his hands.

'I get a couple of comments,' he said. 'Some people say, 'Keep it high and tight.' 'No fumbles.' They compliment me on the game I just had. I'm just trying to keep it up.

'I remember last year around this time when I had a good game against Northwestern (15 carries for 106 yards and a TD in his college debut), I kind of lost focus and got off track. I'm just trying to stay consistent this time around.'

He's getting help from teammates there. Everyone he does know has tried to knock the ball out of his hands, especially at practice, when Wadley holds a ball when he's not going through a drill or a rep.

'Oh absolutely, no question,' guard Jordan Walsh said when asked if he's tried to knock the ball out of Wadley's arms. 'I take as many shots as I can on him.'

Have you gotten it out?

'I have not, I have not,' Walsh said. 'He's doing his job.'

Even quarterback C.J. Beathard has tried.

'Anytime you can sneak up on him and try to knock it out, you just mess with him, trying to teach him to keep it high and tight and be comfortable with it,' Beathard said. 'It shows he's trying to get better. He wants to help this team, especially now with a lot of backs out. He's got to help the team. He knows taking care of the ball helps us.'

Have you knocked it out?

'I haven't, not me personally,' Beathard said.

Fellow sophomore running back Derrick Mitchell is Wadley's biggest nemesis in the world's longest ball security drill.

Has he knocked it out yet?

'No,' Wadley said. 'He might get me when I'm holding it and just walking around with it and have something else in my hand, but he hasn't gotten it out yet.'

No wait, his mom, Sharonda, gets after him, too. No, really, she does.

'She's trying to fly out here now,' he said. 'She doesn't think I'm capable of holding on to the ball. She just wants to keep tackling me.

'She's got a lot of jokes. She said if I fumble again, she's going to tape the ball to me kind of like one of those 'Friday Night Lights' deals.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com