Akrum Wadley gives Hawkeyes a hashtag for 2017 — #unfinishedbusiness

IOWA CITY — With Thursday's news that running back Akrum Wadley will return for his senior season with Iowa, the Hawkeyes suddenly have a theme for the 2017 season.

'It was the right decision for me and my family,' Wadley said in a statement. 'I met with my parents and we laid out the pros and cons, and came to the decision that it would be best for me to stay at Iowa for my senior year.

'The main three reasons are to earn my degree, to have another year to prepare physically, and to not end my collegiate career on a bad note; we have some unfinished business.'

On his Instagram account, Wadley, who led the Hawkeyes in 2016 with 1,081 rushing yards, said most of the same stuff with the hashtag '#unfinishedbusiness.'

'Unfinished business' works on so many levels for the Hawkeyes and for Wadley. Of course, Iowa fell 30-3 in a total-team short circuit earlier this week against Florida in the Outback Bowl. The Hawkeyes finished 8-5, with wins over Michigan and Nebraska to point to and losses to North Dakota State, Northwestern and the bowl result to file in 'unfinished business.'

Wadley was Iowa's lone bright spot against Florida, crossing 1,000 rushing yards for the season with 115 yards on 22 carries. He totaled 136 all-purpose yards, which was 60 percent of Iowa's offense. He had similar numbers against Michigan, which was No. 3 when Iowa topped it 14-13 at Kinnick Stadium. Wadley gained 167 total yards of Iowa's 230 of offense (73 percent).

Wadley became a consistent pass catcher for the Hawkeyes this season. Wadley finished seventh in the Big Ten with the 1,081 rushing yards. He finished eighth and led the Hawkeyes in all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and return yards), averaging 107.4 yards a game. He became the first Iowa full-time starter to average more than 100 all-purpose yards per game since running back Marcus Coker averaged 128.4 yards a game in 2011. Only nine Hawkeyes in the last nine seasons have averaged more than 100 all-purpose yards per game.

Wadley had a sore knee all season and did have minor surgery this week. Iowa running backs generally don't get tackled in practice, especially spring, so probably not a hurry on this. The Hawkeyes don't begin winter conditioning until around Jan. 17, which is the first day of the spring semester.

'It is positive news to know that Akrum has made the decision to be with our program for his senior season,' head coach Kirk Ferentz said in a statement. 'Akrum has displayed growth and maturity during his career, and had an outstanding season in 2016. We look forward to Akrum being a key member of our team in 2017.'

After the Outback Bowl, Wadley, a Newark, N.J., native said he was 50/50 on a return for his senior year. He didn't go through the NFL draft advisory committee process.

'I would like to thank coach Ferentz,' Wadley said. 'We had good conversations and he let me know that he would be there either way, he would have my back. I also want to express my appreciation for all the support from my teammates, and the great and loyal Iowa fans.'

A video posted by Akrum Wadley (@topdogwadley) on

  came to the conclusion that leaving will be selling myself short! I'm staying my last year and gone finish strong and finish fighting with my brothers. #truevision #unfinishedbusiness thanks for the love and support from my family, friends and the best fans in the country. Much love

A video posted by Akrum Wadley (@topdogwadley) on

Jan 5, 2017 at 2:38pm PST

Wadley rushed for 1,081 yards and 10 touchdowns on 168 carries. He also had 36 receptions for 315 yards and three TDs. He ended up leading Iowa in rushing, just ahead of LeShun Daniels' 1,058 yards, and did that on 45 fewer carries (168 to 213).

Wadley averaged 6.43 yards per carry, the highest for an Iowa back since Tavian Banks had 6.50 yards on 260 carries (1,691 yards) in 1997.

Wadley has 1,763 career rushing yards (18th on Iowa's career list), and he ranks 20th in career scoring with 120 points. He also has 43 career receptions for 408 yards to total 2,171 career all-purpose yards. Only three Hawkeyes have rushed for over 1,000 yards in more than one season (Sedrick Shaw, Fred Russell, Ladell Betts).