I woulda thought that! I haven't seen to many games like he put up against Tulsa I think. He put on a show! I've only seen Tyrone Wheatley in the Rose Bowl put up an individual effort like that!
Wadley GOAT Iowa RB?
- Thread starter hawklover69
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I woulda thought that! I haven't seen to many games like he put up against Tulsa I think. He put on a show! I've only seen Tyrone Wheatley in the Rose Bowl put up an individual effort like that!
Sorry KF, you missed this one. You can't compare someone to Harmon unless he is a criminal.
Wad is up there in pure talent. I like Podalak, Greene, Shaw & Albert Young as great RB's and great Hawks. I love Tavian Banks and Freddie, but neither one of them actually, you know, broke many tackles.
If Wadley can finish this season the way it has started, he's in my Top 5 for sure.
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Maybe the entire defense was in on the fix in the 2016 Rose Bowl game. You really believe he was paid off to fumble don't you?
Tavian could run, no doubt...like the wind. But he wasn't big after contact. Harmon is a good comparison to AW, but I think Sedrick Shaw may be closer. Sed had that start and stop thing like AW does. He was fun to watch. Shonn Greene was special with a little different skill set.
Name your top 5 running backs of the modern era (Hayden/Kirk) would be tough. Good thread all its own.
Well Aw will be in the spotlight next weekend prime time Barkley on the other side .He will prove who the best rb on the field all purpose
Shonn Greene is the best Iowa RB I have seen in my lifetime, but that's just my opinion.
Shonn Greene - powerful, fast, great vision and balance. Limited threat in the passing game.
Akrum Wadley - elusive, fast, great vision and balance. Big threat in the passing game.
Two tremendous Hawkeye RB's!
Akrum Wadley - elusive, fast, great vision and balance. Big threat in the passing game.
Two tremendous Hawkeye RB's!
There certainly is enough smoke to raise legitimate doubts. Harmon was implicated in the criminal prosecution of agents Norby Walters and Harold Bloom. He took a substantial amount of cash and other illegal gifts.
Based on a ruling by an arbitrator, John Culver, a former Senator from Iowa, Ronnie Harmon does not have to repay Norby Walters most of the money he received from the agent with whom he had a contract from March 1985 until August 1986
Since Harmon was a junior at the University of Iowa, signing a contract and accepting money from the agents violated National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. Culver's 30-page decision held that Harmon must repay only $5,869.47 of the $54,924.42 that Walter gave him in cash, airline tickets and an automobile. Culver, however, said that he did not consider Harmon to be an innocent party in the dealings with the agents and reprimanded the running back, who was the top draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1986. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/05/sports/sports-people-decision-on-harmon.html
I've been Wadley's biggest advocate since he first stepped on the field at Iowa. He had "it" right from the start. What he didn't have was lbs on his body.
That said, I would never proclaim him as Iowa's best back ever, but he is most definitely in the conversation. He runs HARD in between the tackles for a man his size, doesn't fumble, elusive, fast, you name it, he's got it.
I would not take any back in the country over him at the collegiate level, of that I am certain. We're extremely fortunate he didn't give Kirk and Iowa the middle finger based on how he has been handled.
The kid is special. The eye test is all you need, week in, week out he passes it with flying colors.
That said, I would never proclaim him as Iowa's best back ever, but he is most definitely in the conversation. He runs HARD in between the tackles for a man his size, doesn't fumble, elusive, fast, you name it, he's got it.
I would not take any back in the country over him at the collegiate level, of that I am certain. We're extremely fortunate he didn't give Kirk and Iowa the middle finger based on how he has been handled.
The kid is special. The eye test is all you need, week in, week out he passes it with flying colors.
In regards to Elliot, I saw an article yesterday that showed some ASTOUNDING numbers for Elliot last year, and McFadden the year before on how many yards they gained before they were even touched. It was incredible seeing that in black and white terms. Elliot is a darn good back, but the Dallas O-line has a heck of a lot to do with that. IIRC, his yards after contact were not off the charts relative to the season yardage he accumulated. Very interesting stuff.
IMO Jermelle Lewis could have been in this 4 sure w/o the injuries.
My Top 5
G.O.A.T. wadley, he is a little bit of all my favs in 1 package
1.Shonn Greene
2.Tavian Banks
3.Sedrick Shaw
4.Nick Bell
5.Fred Russell
My Top 5
G.O.A.T. wadley, he is a little bit of all my favs in 1 package
1.Shonn Greene
2.Tavian Banks
3.Sedrick Shaw
4.Nick Bell
5.Fred Russell
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Pretty good list, but I will broaden the historical horizon...
1) Shonn Greene
2) Tavian Banks
3) Sedrick Shaw
4) Bob Jeter
5) Nick Bell
Akrum is one more big game from cracking top 5, and a few more big games for a top 3.
I was at that Sedrick Shaw game that was the #5 all-time performance, sitting in a solid MSU section as a 14 year old. That was one of the most rapturous feelings I have ever had, watching him destroy the Spartans.
Loved Tavian as he was a home run threat every time he touched it (more so than any Iowa back I've ever seen). However, he couldn't break a tackle. If you touched him, he went down. He wasn't going to get many tough yards.
Harmon, Shaw and Greene are all guys I'd take as an every down back over Banks.
Wadley is also one of a kind. I'm not sure Iowa has ever seen anyone with his elusiveness. His change of direction is other worldly. Love his ability to catch the ball too. I love that he can actually break a tackle even though he's small. Talent-wise, Wadley is special.
Harmon, Shaw and Greene are all guys I'd take as an every down back over Banks.
Wadley is also one of a kind. I'm not sure Iowa has ever seen anyone with his elusiveness. His change of direction is other worldly. Love his ability to catch the ball too. I love that he can actually break a tackle even though he's small. Talent-wise, Wadley is special.
Best all around back since the mid 90's is Ladell Betts. He could run between the tackles, run outside, catch passes out of the backfield, and pass block. The total package stuck on some bad teams. I'd probably put Sedrick Shaw next in this category. These are the kinds of guys that you want on your team to grind your way through a whole season.
Best runner was Shonn Greene. Always a threat to run someone over, spin around them, or outrun them to the end zone. Marcus Coker, Jermelle Lewis, and Fred Russell are probably also in this category. These are the kinds of guys that take over games.
Akrum Wadley is probably the best guy in that time in the open field. He can get yards between the tackles, but watch out when he gets out in open space. Speed to run away and moves to juke people. Tavian Banks is also in this category and had higher end speed, but didn't deal as well with contact and didn't have the same moves. More of a one cut and go runner. These are the game breakers that we are always begging to have.
Best runner was Shonn Greene. Always a threat to run someone over, spin around them, or outrun them to the end zone. Marcus Coker, Jermelle Lewis, and Fred Russell are probably also in this category. These are the kinds of guys that take over games.
Akrum Wadley is probably the best guy in that time in the open field. He can get yards between the tackles, but watch out when he gets out in open space. Speed to run away and moves to juke people. Tavian Banks is also in this category and had higher end speed, but didn't deal as well with contact and didn't have the same moves. More of a one cut and go runner. These are the game breakers that we are always begging to have.
Ladell Betts should be in the top 5. His stats don't reflect how great he was. He played most of his career behind some off the worse lines and rarely lost yardage. One of the most powerful backs ever to suit up for the hawks. Simply refused to be tackled for loss and has a stellar senior season when the line was average. Went on to be a very productive NFL back
Ladell was a great talent on a weak team. Also a terrific young man. On a stronger team... wow...
And yes, Tavian was a bit of an "all or nothing" guy...great runner, beautiful in the open field, but couldn't/didn't battle like Ladell/Sedrick/Shonn/Albert/... in the trenches.
Ronnie Harmon...I'm still mixed on. Still lived in Iowa City post graduate while he played. I've heard plenty, but nothing definitive..so that's a really tough call. He could be one of the greatest athletic talents of the last 40 years...and if the rumors and scuttle prove to be true...he could also be the biggest POS.
And yes, Tavian was a bit of an "all or nothing" guy...great runner, beautiful in the open field, but couldn't/didn't battle like Ladell/Sedrick/Shonn/Albert/... in the trenches.
Ronnie Harmon...I'm still mixed on. Still lived in Iowa City post graduate while he played. I've heard plenty, but nothing definitive..so that's a really tough call. He could be one of the greatest athletic talents of the last 40 years...and if the rumors and scuttle prove to be true...he could also be the biggest POS.
I get the love for Wadley, but don't understand your analogy. When you say he has a little bit from your favs, I don't see the correlation to Greene, and certainly not Nick Bell, who was purely a battering ram. Bell had a lot more in common with Mark Weisman than Wadley.
lol Nick Bell tail back in a fullback body and he was a fast battering ram and well he was a pro.. Mark Weismann was a battering ram. Mark did give A effort thou. But nick could make people miss, run people over, catch the ball and had good speed.. him and Lew From The "Loo" Montgomery were a pretty tough back field.. Check it out Nick much like Akrum has those moves : . And it's fun to watch a dude that size move like that.
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I always gave Harmon the benefit of the doubt until, about 10 years ago, one of his former Hawkeyes teammates insisted to me that Harmon threw the game.
Yep, been watching hawk fb for a long time and absolutely no has had the moves Wadley does. I agree, his change of direction is unmatched, he can be running forward and absolutely jump sideways at the same speed leaving defenders grabbing nothing but air, it is truly amazing. He gives a little shimmy shake making them think he's going one way as he goes another leaving them saying, wtf??
Ok, he finishes runs w/ a little power, thats the greene bell part/he tries to give a punch or blow @ the end of runs.
Thank you. I never got to watch many of those on this list...was hoping there was a highlight vid for Ronnie Harmon, but there isn't one. I had never seen Nick Bell and man am I a believer after watching that. What a beast! Absolutely fun to watch. Wadley does share that ability to step/slip out of tackles when someone grabs his lower leg that Bell shows here. Also, couldn't find a highlight vid for Ladell Betts.
My favorite to watch was Tavian Banks
Dude was so quick and shifty.
Wadley is right up there though and probably a better pass catcher.
Dude was so quick and shifty.
Wadley is right up there though and probably a better pass catcher.
Ronnie Harmon Highlights
$10,000 bonus for each fumble
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...ion-sports-agents-norby-walters-ronnie-harmon
$10,000 bonus for each fumble
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...ion-sports-agents-norby-walters-ronnie-harmon
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They both had that innate, instinctive ability to juke defenders and both add a lot to the passing game. Wadley is just so much faster and more explosive out of his cuts.
The answer is no. He is an exciting player, but get some perspective.
Sed Shaw, Tavian Banks, Owen Gill, Big 10 MVP Nick Bell, Tony Stewart, Dennis Mosely, Willie Fleming, Bob Jeter all come to mind first.
Sed Shaw, Tavian Banks, Owen Gill, Big 10 MVP Nick Bell, Tony Stewart, Dennis Mosely, Willie Fleming, Bob Jeter all come to mind first.
Wadley already has more TDs (receiving + rushing) than everyone on your list except Tavian, and has more yards than the majority of them with a better yards per carry average.
If Wadley would have played in the 1960's, you'd probably have him ranked as the best of all time.
Tavian Banks would have been an all pro for the jags if not for that awful knee injury
Totally loved Tavian banks, he was just so darn fast, better break away speed than Wadley. Wadley although has something that Tavian didn't, the ability to do things with his feet, i liked the comparison of the matrix, he's just so hard to get a bead on to try to tackle. Plus it takes more to bring Wadley down once and if you can get a hand on him.
