Illinois athlete is No. 8 for the Hawkeyes

Niles (Ill.) North High School's Barrington Wade made his college choice on a Monday morning at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Skokie.

He already let the world know of his decision to pick the Hawkeyes on his Twitter account, writing 'Happy to be a part of the family” with a Hawkeye uniform emoticon that had the No. 22 on the front.

The running back/linebacker has had Iowa near the top of his list since the Hawkeyes were first to offer him in early February. The 6-1, 207-pounder picked the Hawkeyes over eight other offers, including Connecticut, Wyoming, Western Michigan and Northern Iowa. Last season, Wade rushed for 894 yards and 19 touchdowns despite missing the first three games with a foot injury. Wade also ran a leg on North's state-qualifying 400-meter relay team.

When Wade, rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, visited Iowa at the end of spring practice in April, it was up in the air whether he would play running back, linebacker or possibly safety in college. That still seems to be where things stand. Right now, Iowa is getting an athlete with good size and speed. Where it goes from here depends on need and Wade's development.

Upon his April visit to Iowa, Wade told HawkeyeReport.com: 'They're still looking at me at both linebacker and running back. I don't really have a preference to be honest.”

Among other schools showing interest were Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Penn State, Indiana, Syracuse, Minnesota and Iowa State.

'I'm pretty open when it comes to playing a position in college,” Wade told Rivals. 'If I can help out the team playing at another spot other than running back I'm fine with it. I'm just looking to help out the team in any way I can.”

Wade, the 25th-ranked prospect in Illinois according to Rivals, is a pretty strong example of the power of the unofficial visit. Living just three-plus hours away in the Chicago suburbs, Wade visited Iowa City at least four times, including twice before Iowa offered a scholarship in February. Everybody has kind of said both and some have said safety too, so my options are still kind of open as far as what position I would like to play.”

Wade's commitment comes on the heels of his performance at The Sound Mind Sound Body camp in Detroit last weekend. College coaches were able to attend and coach at the event, which allowed them to see a lot of their targets up close and personal. More than 48 colleges were represented from all different levels, with over 200 coaches on hand, including Urban Meyer, Jim Harbaugh, James Franklin, and Mark Dantonio.

With summer camp season in swing, the Hawkeyes have had a roll of commitments in the last few weeks. Iowa now is up to eight, which is up to 48th in the nation and 11th in the Big Ten, according to Rivals.com's rankings.

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