McNutt sticks with Hawkeyes

About 3 p.m. Wednesday on his Facebook page, Iowa junior wide receiver Marvin McNutt issued this status update: "I'm going back."

Social media is now the new Associated Press.

The UI confirmed McNutt's Facebook status about an hour later.

“I was very happy to learn this morning of Marvin's intentions to finish his career at Iowa as a senior next fall,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said in the release. “Marvin has done some tremendous things for our team the past several years and we anticipate him enjoying a very productive year as both a player and team leader in his senior year.”

McNutt led the Hawkeyes in receptions (53) and receiving yards (861) in 2010. He had eight touchdown receptions and was named second-team all-Big Ten by league coaches. The yardage ranks 10th best for a single season at Iowa.

McNutt, a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder, has said since early November that he was staying with the Hawkeyes.

“I'm pretty sure I'm going to be here next year," McNutt said Nov. 3. "Pretty sure. Right now, my decision is to be in school. It's like the [Wisconsin] loss. You try to tell people, let's move on because it's something that's not in front of me.”

During the Insight Bowl week, McNutt said he submitted his name to the NFL draft advisory board for an evaluation.

The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is Saturday. The National Football Post's Matt Bowen, a former Hawkeye and NFL safety, reported Wednesday afternoon that safety Tyler Sash forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL draft.

McNutt should set himself up well for the 2012 draft, said Wes Bunting, the National Football Post's director of college scouting.

"He's only played receiver for two years, so he's going to mature," Bunting said. "He can make plays on the football. Even when he's covered up, he can still go up and get the football."

McNutt was in and out at wide receiver during his redshirt freshman season in 2008, when he caught just one pass but also practiced mostly as the Hawkeyes' No. 3 QB, behind Ricky Stanzi and Jake Christensen.

In two full seasons at receiver, McNutt, a St. Louis native, has 88 receptions for 1,546 yards and 16 touchdowns. He ranks 16th in career receiving yards and is tied for fourth in career touchdown receptions.

"With another year of production, he'll be the No. 1 senior next year," Bunting said. "If he can polish himself up as a route runner, he'll be one of the top senior receivers coming back, so I could see him moving up to that mid-round range."

With Sash headed to the NFL, the Hawkeyes went 2-for-3 in early NFL entries.

Junior cornerback Shaun Prater,an Omaha, Neb., native, announced Tuesday that he would return for his senior season.

Prater (5-11, 180) earned first team all-Big Ten honors by both league coaches and media. He recorded four pass interceptions and had a 33-yard touchdown return in Iowa's 24-3 win over Penn State. He was fifth on the team with 68 tackles and second with six pass breakups.