A closer look: Iowa RBs

THE DEPTH CHART

1. LeShun Daniels, junior, 6-0, 225; 2. Jordan Canzeri, senior, 5-9, 192; 3. Akrum Wadley, soph, 5-11, 185; 4. Derrick Mitchell Jr., soph, 6-1, 216; 5. Marcel Joly, redshirt frosh, 5-11, 185; 6. Eric Graham, true frosh, 5-9, 195

THE CASE FOR WADLEY

In one game last season, sophomore running back Akrum Wadley showed you everything you needed to see. He sliced through Northwestern for 106 yards and a TD on 15 carries and he looked great doing it.

But he also fumbled and then fumbled again. In the TaxSlayer Bowl, he had some carries that were sort of tentative. Then in the spring, he found himself behind LeShun Daniels and Jordan Canzeri and next to converted wide receiver Derrick Mitchell Jr. on the depth chart.

Wadley's skills are undeniable and should get him at least a look at running back for the Hawkeyes this fall. Early in camp, he still saw reps with the first and second units.

'I'm slippery, I'm shifty,” Wadley said. 'I've been catching the ball well, I've been running the ball well. I've made some big plays. I just have to keep focusing on my weight and ball security.”

We've covered those. What else makes Wadley work? You saw it in the spring game. He's got a knack for the spin move. He sets up tacklers and then spins off that set up.

'That's my thing, I've been doing that since I was little,” Wadley said. 'It's probably one of my favorite moves, especially a little guy like me. I like to bounce off tackles spinning left and right, so I won't absorb much of the impact.”

What are you looking at when you set tacklers up like that?

'I just want score, that's all I want to do,” Wadley said. 'I don't plan it, it just comes. It just happens naturally.”

You can coach and maybe harness that, but you also have to kind of let it happen. Shiftiness is probably Wadley's strongest hand in the card game that is Iowa running back 2015.

AND MITCHELL . . .

Iowa hasn't had a seismic position switch in a long time. There have been a few tweaks here and there, but nothing like that time in 2001 when Dallas Clark finally made the switch from outside linebacker/special teamer to tight end. That really, really worked.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves with Derrick Mitchell Jr. He made the move from wide receiver to running back this spring. He's looked OK doing it, rushing 13 times for 51 yards, with around a dozen carries as the No. 1 RB, in the Aug. 15 open scrimmage.

He's looked OK and intriguing and keeps his name in the hat for carries this season.

'I'm happy with how he's picked up everything,” running backs coach Chris White said. 'He had a feel for the overall offense as a wide receiver, but the kid is a very natural athlete. He's very instinctive. He runs the ball a lot better than I anticipated. Obviously, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He's got the toughness to be the third-down back, too, and get some carries.”

Mitchell was recruited to Iowa as a wide receiver, but he came to Iowa as, basically, a football player. At St. Louis, Mo., Vashon High School, Mitchell played quarterback and was extremely productive. He passed for 808 yards, rushed for 518 and picked up 277 yards receiving. He also scored 15 touchdowns. On defense, Mitchell had 39 tackles and an interception. During his junior year, he played quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and returned kicks and punts. He had scholarship offers from Nebraska, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State.

'I wasn't nervous (with the switch),” Mitchell said. 'I've been a ball carrier all my life. I grew up as a running back when I was younger. Then I turned into quarterback in high school. I wasn't stressed about it.”

Of course, Mitchell would love touches, would love to play. He also knows he has to be patient, put his best foot forward and let this sort itself out.

'I just have to keep working, that's the bottom line,” Mitchell said. 'I have to keep working hard and my time will come.”

This move remains in the 'intriguing” category. Seismic will have to wait.

BRO COUNTRY

Junior RB LeShun Daniels will have some blood in the game this fall. His brother, James, will be a true freshman offensive lineman for the Hawkeyes.

We're just getting to know their personalities and true freshmen, per coach's policy, aren't allowed to give interviews. So, if LeShun wanted to prank his younger brother (their father, LeShun Daniels Sr., a former offensive lineman at Ohio State), he'd tell the media unflattering things, knowing James wouldn't be able to defend himself until spring football.

But, no, LeShun is responsible and mature.

'He's definitely that type of person, he's always joking around,” LeShun said. 'He knows when it's time to get serious and stuff, but yeah, he's definitely the jokester.”

What's it like to have your brother here? Not a lot of families can claim two Big Ten players at the same school.

'It's definitely cool,” LeShun said. 'Not many people get an opportunity to be at a Division I school with their brother. I think it's really sweet to have him here. We hang out and stuff and we have fun. It's a lot easier on our parents.”

Speaking of James, he spent some time as a guard with the first and second units in the Aug. 15 scrimmage. He might be in play on the O-line as a true freshman (remember, James Daniels enrolled at Iowa in January and made the dean's list, according to head coach Kirk Ferentz).

'That's an open book right now,” Ferentz said. 'We will continue to let him compete. He is doing a good job. There are some things he has to learn and that's probably true of most of our players when you talk about the line.”

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