Leshun Daniels

The rising senior should have the first crack at locking down the starting job this fall with the departure of Jordan Canzeri. Daniels put up respectable numbers as Iowa’s second running back and occasional starter last season, taking 145 carries for 646 yards (4.46 YPC) with eight touchdowns. While Daniels should be the lead back in 2016, head coach Kirk Ferentz tends to rely on several running backs over the course of a season rather than leaning on one bellcow. Backs like Akrum Wadley and Derrick Mitchell, both of whom averaged 6.0 or more yards per carry in 2015, figure to see bigger chunks of the workload this season and they both exhibit superior athleticism to that of Daniels.