Iowa Hawkeyes land transfer RB James Butler from Nevada

The Iowa Hawkeyes already have one running back generating interest from NFL teams, and now they may have another in James Butler, a transfer from Nevada…

The Iowa Hawkeyes have made a very rare summer acquisition that could give them potentially the best running game in the Big Ten in 2017. Nevada graduate transfer James Butler has decided to join the Hawkeyes and Akrum Wadley this season, spurring some interesting chatter among the college football and NFL Draft community…

This is a very exciting move for the Hawkeyes, who will be breaking in a new starting quarterback for the 2017 season. As is always the case for Kirk Ferentz coached teams, the Hawkeyes will boast a very traditional pro-style offense with both power and zone concepts, which allows backs like Butler and Wadley to excel in a variety of ways.

The productivity of these two backs up to this point is already exciting enough, but when you combine it with an Iowa offensive line that is coming into its own and returning all but eight starts from last year’s line.

It’s a dream come true for quarterback Nathan Stanley, who now has an offensive line that should be among the best in the nation, and a running back duo in Butler and Wadley, both of whom have NFL running abilities.

I found this to be the most staggering fact about Butler:

The Hawkeyes will boast two of the most elusive backs in the Big Ten. Obviously, these guys are exceptional in the open field both as runners and receivers out of the backfield. The addition of Butler helps ease the loss of LeShun Daniels, but also gives the Hawkeyes an even more dynamic threat.

Wadley caught 36 passes a year ago, while Butler emerged in his own right as a receiver, catching 37.

These two players will be extremely valuable for Iowa’s offense and the addition of Butler may just give the Hawkeyes a chance to come out and make some noise in the conference this season.