Hlas: Akrum Wadley may go pro, and who could blame him?

TAMPA, Fla. — If I'm Akrum Wadley and NFL people tell me I'm a surefire draft pick in 2017, Iowa City is in my rearview mirror.

This isn't an attempt to shove the Iowa junior running back out of our midst. It's fine with me if one of the Hawkeyes' most entertaining and talented players of the Kirk Ferentz Era wants to stay for another season to provide plenty more great plays to write about.

Iowa can ill afford to lose Wadley, of course. As you may have noticed Monday, the Hawkeyes aren't exactly overstocked with the kind of speed and offensive wizardry they keep falling to in bowl games.

But if there's little doubt a pro team will call Wadley's name in late April, he should go.

The reason is obvious. Running backs don't play as long as players at most other positions. Get your money while you can. There's no guarantee you'll be healthy enough to cash in a year from now.

Wadley's team suffered a 30-3 flattening from Florida in Monday's Outback Bowl and he was still the most-impressive offensive player in the game. He rushed 22 times for 115 yards, had four of Iowa's seven pass receptions, and accounted for 136 of his team's meager 226 yards.

That's 136 yards against the nation's No. 5 defense. Which was three games after he had 167 of Iowa's 230 yards and was the game's most-impressive offensive player in a win over Michigan, the nation's No. 2 defense.

Asking Wadley if he were on his way out the door was as valid as any of Monday's postgame question, and he left that door answer with his replies.

'Not really sure,' Wadley said.

'It's going to be a couple days. I'll talk it over with my family, my coaches. They all have my back and they'll play a part in me making a big decision.'

Wadley didn't file an evaluation request with the NFL College Advisory Committee before its Dec. 16 deadline, saying 'That's what I failed to do. All my focus and concentration has been on this bowl game. So now I get some time off, I can do that.'

On one occasion in his postgame remarks to interviewers, he said 'I'd say a 50/50 chance' he goes pro.

When a player says it's 50/50 a half-hour after the final game of the season, it's more likely than a coin flip that he makes himself draft-eligible.

The 2017 draft could be better than average for running backs. Florida State's Dalvin Cook, LSU's Leonard Fournette and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey are all juniors who intend to enter the draft. All could be first-rounders.

The top two 2016 NFL regular-season rushers were rookies. One was the fourth pick in the '16 draft, Ezekiel Elliott of Dallas. But the other was Chicago fifth-rounder Jordan Howard. Fifth-round 2015 pick Jay Ajayi of the Miami Dolphins was fourth in 2016 NFL rushing.

Fournette and McCaffrey skipped their teams' bowl games. Cook and Wadley played in theirs, enhancing their reputations with their performances.

Which was more than Iowa's team could say Monday, more than it could say against Stanford in last year's Rose Bowl, more than it could say against Tennessee in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl.

Among things Wadley cited as reasons to stay at Iowa was 'To win a bowl game.' Which makes him an optimist.

It's not like he couldn't come back for his senior season and add to his NFL appeal. Iowa's entire starting offensive line is back, and Matt VandeBerg will give the Hawkeyes at least one receiver with playmaking skills to open things wider than they were Monday.

The blockers, Wadley said, 'are going to do pretty much the same thing, but more next year. And Coach Brian Ferentz, he's a great coach. He's going to put me and the offensive linemen in the best possible place to make the best cuts and the best success.'

Last year, Iowa cornerback Desmond King opted to stay at Iowa for his senior season rather than turn pro. He offered no advice to Wadley, saying 'That's up to Akrum. I'm going to support him 100 percent whether he's there (at Iowa) or not. I'm looking forward to his journey to come.

'I think he's NFL-ready. He's a back that can catch the ball out of the backfield as well. He's dangerous with the ball in his hands. If they put him back there on special teams as a kick-returners, he can do the same thing.'

King made an interception while on his back Monday. He also had a 49-yard kickoff return. He came back, he stayed healthy, he got better, and he may be a first-round draftee come April.

But everyone hears their own siren calls. A month ago, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Wadley his No. 5 running back prospect. Is he big enough right now? Can he pass block well enough? Dunno.

But if Kiper is even close to being right? Wadley should go.