Hawkeyes pick up Nevada running back via grad transfer

It's around 60 days before the college football season begins. So, we're in that zone where it doesn't take much to get you thinking about fall kickoffs.

Some news fell Tuesday that certainly will stoke football excitement for Iowa fans.

On his Twitter account, Nevada running back James Butler announced that he will transfer to Iowa via the graduate transfer rule. Butler graduated from Nevada in three years, so he's eligible to play this fall.

'With my hard work and dedication in the classroom, I've graduated in three years,' the 5-9, 210-pounder wrote in a note on Twitter. 'I've decided to spend my last year of eligibility closer to home in front of my mother/family and attend the University of Iowa.

'This decision has not been an easy one to make, but one that I felt was best for my family and I.'

Beyond assistant coaches retweeting Butler's commitment announcement, there's been no official word from Iowa.

Butler was a 2-star recruit from St. Francis High School (Wheaton, Ill.) back in 2013. He had interest from Iowa and offers from Temple, Colgate, Eastern Illinois and James Madison. He picked Nevada because of the relationship he built with running backs coach Lester Erb, whose job at Iowa wasn't renewed before he landed at Nevada in 2013.

Butler was a great fit at Nevada, a perennial bowl squad out of the Mountain West Conference. Last season, Butler racked up 1,336 yards on 260 carries (5.14 yards a carry) and rushed for 12 TDs. He also caught 37 passes for 381 yards and scored another three TDs.

Butler rushed for 1,342 yards in 2015 and finishes his Nevada career with 3,313 rushing yards (eighth most in Nevada history) and 30 TDs. Butler was a preseason all-Mountain West first-team pick by Athlon Sports and certainly would've been a centerpiece in first-year head coach Jay Norvell's offense. (Yes, it's that Jay Norvell, a 1986 Iowa grad and former all-Big Ten defensive back who recorded a league-high seven interceptions in 1985.)

Where will Butler fit with the Hawkeyes? There are more than a few ways this might go.

— Let's assume senior Akrum Wadley is the No. 1 running back. He rushed for a career-high 1,081 yards last season and has proved himself to be a versatile weapon as a running back and catching passes out of the backfield. The No. 2 running back does remain in line for 80 to 150 carries. Maybe more, maybe less. It depends on the No. 2 RB and what buttons first-year offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz pushes with this group.

As it stood Tuesday, sophomore Toks Akinribade and redshirt freshman Toren Young were the main contestants for RB No. 2, which, of course, also could go a bunch of different ways.

Now, Iowa has a 5-9, 210-pound workhorse with a bona fide college resume. In mop-up duty last season, Akinribade had just 16 carries for 33 yards. Maybe coaches got nervous about the lack of experienced depth behind Wadley, who did have minor knee surgery in January, and recruited Butler with the idea of immediate depth at a position that — history has told everyone on more than a few occasions — needs it.

So, now there's serious competition for RB No. 2, which could be used in so many different ways under Brian Ferentz, who also happens to be in his first year as a running backs coach.

Maybe one of the two incoming freshman RBs, Kyshaun Bryan and Ivory Kelly-Martin, shows up in August and changes the depth chart. File that under good problem. You're going to have those when you land a graduate transfer with a significant resume in early July.

— Butler is a true senior. He has a fifth year if he chooses to redshirt. These types of moves always seem to be made with the 'now' at the forefront. If it went this way, though, Butler would be a senior in 2018 with Akinribade a junior and Young a sophomore with Bryan and Kelly-Martin in the mix. If Butler redshirts in 2017, one or both of Bryan and Kelly-Martin probably see action as true freshmen.

— With Desmond King's graduation, Iowa is in the market for a return specialist. Butler is probably not that guy. He never returned a punt or a kick for Nevada.

During Butler's time at Nevada, the Wolf Pack played six Power 5 programs and Boise State once. Here's what Butler did in those games:

2014

vs. Washington State — 14 carries for 55 yards with a TD

vs. Arizona — 13 for 50

vs. Boise State — 7 for 63

2015

vs. Arizona — 9 for 33

vs. Texas A&M — 17 for 107

2016

vs. Notre Dame — 17 for 50

vs. Purdue — 14 for 38

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