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Iowa Football: End Of Season Awards For 2016 Season
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Handing out awards for Iowa’s 2016 season
The season did not end well for Iowa football. Despite ending the regular season on a three game winning streak, a 30-3 loss to Florida in the Outback Bowl will leave a sour taste in Iowa’s mouths this offseason.
The Hawkeyes didn’t repeat as Big Ten West champions and lost their fifth straight bowl game, as well. After a stellar 12-2 season a year ago, finishing 8-5 and nowhere near the top of the division is disappointing considering the expectations heading into the season.
Although, for as many low points as there were this season, there were also many high points. The Hawkeyes beat two ranked teams and won three of their four trophy games. It might not be a second Rose Bowl appearance, however it wasn’t a complete lost season for Iowa, either.
They will enter 2017 with a freshman quarterback and a young cornerback core with the departures of C.J. Beathard and Desmond King, although will still have sizable expectations. Before focusing on next season, though, here’s one last look at the highlights of the 2016 campaign.
Play Of The Year: Keith Duncan 33-Yard Field Goal
A lot of key plays helped Iowa upset Michigan 14-13, but Keith Duncan‘s 33-yard field goal is the one that will always be in everyone’s mind. The freshman kicker only attempted 11 field goals this year and had never been in as big of a moment at Iowa, which makes it even more amazing that he nailed it.
Michigan’s face mask on a Desmond King punt return, as well as C.J. Beathard’s gutsy eight yard run that put Iowa in field goal range are also key moments. Although, the kick that won Iowa the game, with fans storming the field immediately after it goes through, is what makes this the play of the year for Iowa.
Honorable Mentions
Akrum Wadley 6-Yard Run vs Iowa State: Okay, it’s only a six-yard run and Akrum Wadley scored 13 touchdowns in 2016, including two against Iowa State, but this play is the best example of his quickness and elusiveness. Wadley can make almost any defender in the nation miss a tackle, and he showcased that ability for one of the first time’s this season in Iowa’s second game. Just watch the above clip at :48.
Jaleel Johnson Safety vs Michigan: Down 10-0, Jaleel Johnson stuffing De’Veon Smith in the end zone for a safety is what gave Iowa momentum against Michigan. Their offense started to find a rhythm and Michigan realized they wouldn’t have a lot of success running against Iowa, either. Without this defensive stand, Michigan probably would have crushed Iowa.
Manny Rugamba Interception vs Michigan: Michigan drove 22 yards in almost five minutes before Manny Rugamba intercepted Wilton Speight. With Iowa down 13-11, Michigan looked like they were going to put the game away with a long touchdown drive. Instead, freshman cornerback Manny Rugamba ripped the ball out of Jehu Chesson‘s hands. Beathard threw an interception five plays later but it kept the Hawkeyes in the game, nonetheless.
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Game Of The Year: Iowa Beats #3 Michigan 14-13
Is there really any other choice? The third-ranked team came to Iowa City as a 21.5-point favorite a week after Iowa lost 41-14 to Penn State. People questioned whether the Hawkeyes would even become bowl eligible before this game, as they sat at 5-4 against a 9-0 Michigan squad.
Despite Michigan being a superior football team every week up to that point of the season, and Iowa entering the game on their first two game losing streak of the season, the Hawkeyes gained more yards and first downs, forced more turnovers and simply out-played Michigan.
To make it even better, the Hawkeyes came back down 10-0 to win 14-13 on a walk-off field goal, which was followed by students storming the field. It’s one of Iowa’s biggest wins under Kirk Ferentz, and is easily the bright spot of the season for the Hawkeyes.
Honorable Mentions
Iowa Beats Iowa State 42-3: Beating up on your rival is always fun. Iowa State finished a measly 3-9, but it didn’t make a 39-point win any less satisfying. Besides, at this point of the season, the Associated Press had Iowa ranked 16th in the nation, and they still had their lofty pre-season expectations intact. Plus, Iowa scored six touchdowns in their 42-3 win and seemingly shut down Iowa State.
Iowa Beats #16 Nebraska 40-10: Nebraska played with a banged-up Tommy Armstrong Jr and did not deserve to be ranked 16th in the country, but they still were and Iowa demolished them at home to end the regular season. Iowa’s usually nonexplosive offense had a 75 and 77 yard touchdown in the first quarter, as the seniors ended their Kinnick Stadium careers with Iowa’s second largest margin of victory in 2016.
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive Player Of The Year: Akrum Wadley
Akrum Wadley did everything for Iowa on offense. He led Iowa with 1,081 rushing yards on 6.4 yards per carry, tied LeShun Daniels Jr with 10 rushing touchdowns and finished second on the team with 36 receptions for 315 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
By the end of the season, Wadley was Iowa’s offense. He accounted for 72.6 percent of Iowa’s offensive yards against Michigan, 24.8 percent against Illinois, 30.4 percent against Nebraska and 60.2 percent against Florida.
It’s a testament to his ability to make people miss in the open field, as well as his versatility. Plus, he put up these numbers while sharing time in the backfield with Daniels. Wadley is Iowa’s best playmaker and most versatile player.
Honorable Mentions
LeShun Daniels Jr: Wadley is the star out of the backfield for Iowa, but Daniels also gained 1,058 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2016. He and Wadley became the first Iowa teammates to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. Daniels didn’t have the same big play ability or impact in the pass game, but he had a couple of long touchdowns this season and complemented Wadley well.
Matt VandeBerg: Despite only playing in four games, Matt VandeBerg‘s absence proved how valuable he was to Iowa’s pass game. In four games, he still ranks top five in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns on Iowa in 2016. He was Iowa’s only consistent target early in the season and Iowa’s poor production through the air in their last nine games is why their glad he’s returning for a fifth season in 2017.
Offensive Line: Someone has to block for Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels Jr. The offensive line did not end on a high note against Florida, but they won the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in the nation despite facing numerous injuries. It’s not just the starters, but the depth Iowa has on the O-Line is impressive.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive Player Of The Year: Josey Jewell
Iowa had the 13th best scoring defense in the nation this year, and a big reason is due to the play by Josey Jewell. Despite being ejected early in their season opener for targeting, Jewell led the team and finished second in the Big Ten with 124 tackles. He also finished top five on the team with six tackles for loss and one sack, and led Iowa with nine pass deflections.
Jewell puts up huge numbers every game, however his versatility on defense is what made him so valuable. He gets into the backfield to stop the run or pressure the quarterback but is also one of the best pass defending linebackers in the conference. There always seems to be multiple Jewell’s on the field because of the ground he covers.
Honorable Mentions
Desmond King: After a record-setting junior season, Desmond King only intercepted three passes in 2016. He still led the team and record 58 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss to go with his three picks, as well. Teams simply didn’t test King as often, which made his numbers decrease. King has a case to being the Defensive Player of the Year, but Jewell’s versatility was too much to overcome.
Jaleel Johnson: The senior defensive lineman only got better as the year went on. Highlighted by a huge safety against Michigan, Jaleel Johnson recorded 56 tackles, a team-high 10 for a loss and 7.5 sacks as a senior in 2016. He anchored a defense that only allowed four yards per carry. Johnson’s play earned him an invite to the Senior Bowl, too.
Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Most Valuable Player: Akrum Wadley
Outside of Akrum Wadley’s uncanny ability to make defenders miss, he truly was Iowa’s most important player in 2016. As established earlier, Iowa leaned on him every game late in the season, especially in the Outback Bowl where they would hand it to him and hope he could make the entire Florida defense miss.
Without Wadley, Iowa’s offensive would have had even less explosiveness and probably would have owned worse than the 95th best scoring offense in the nation.
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In fact, Wadley accounted for 32.5 percent of Iowa’s offensive touchdowns this season and 33 percent of their total yards. That’s an insane amount for a running back who received 45 fewer carries than the listed starter.
Plus, he was arguably the biggest beneficiary to Matt VandeBerg being lost for the season. Sure, Riley McCarron led the team with 42 receptions, however, Wadley caught 29 passes in the final nine games, including a string of three straight games in which he caught at least five passes as a running back out of the backfield.
His role on offense expanded to being a legitimate option out of the backfield every play. By the end of the season, Iowa’s offensive game plan revolved around short shovel passes to Wadley if they didn’t hand it off to him.
It was most evident in the Outback Bowl when he led Iowa in rushes and receptions with 22 and four, respectively. Despite Iowa only scoring three points, Wadley still looked like the best player on the field.
Wadley will return to Iowa City in 2017 with lofty expectations, however, after seeing how he handled them to end the season, Iowa could have a dark horse Heisman candidate in their backfield.
