Football for McCall

Early last season, recruiting analyst Tom Lemming wrote a blog post that named Mika'il McCall one of the top big backs in the country.

The 6-foot, 215-pounder, however, doesn't put himself in the "big back" class.

"I qualify myself as an average back," said McCall, who rushed for 1,328 yards and 14 TDs at Thornridge (Ill.) High School last fall. "I don't weigh that much, I'm probably just stronger than what a back is supposed to be. I think I'm much faster than the average big back.

"I don't really classify myself as a bigger back, I classify myself as a running back."

So does Iowa.

McCall was one of four running backs signed in the 2011 recruiting class. McCall joins Rodney Coe, a bona fide big back at 255 pounds, and late signees Jordan Canzeri and Damon Bullock.

McCall doesn't classify himself as a big back, but his weightroom numbers put him in that neighborhood -- a 405-pound bench press and a squat max of 550.

Iowa coaches saw the speed they needed to see.

"He really has deceptive speed," said Iowa recruiting coordinator Eric Johnson. "I don't think people know how fast he really is. Good speed, power back. Reminds you of a guy we've had here before in that respect."

Um, maybe a Shonn Greene? Let's not get crazy. It's early.

But Thornridge coach Mike Morrissey had another comparison that might pique your interest.

"For me, he is a bigger version of (former Iowa star) Tim Dwight," Morrissey said. "He is so tough. He runs with aggression."

McCall was an early commitment to Michigan State, but he showed interest in Iowa and wanted to visit in December. At that point, Michigan State pulled his offer. He committed to Iowa quickly thereafter.

Purdue, Syracuse and Minnesota also offered.

McCall was the first of Iowa's four running backs to commit.

"He was a kid who was committed somewhere else. Came to a bunch of our games. So, we asked if he was sincerely interested in us. He said he was," Johnson said. "So, we opened the door to recruit him at that time.

"He was a guy we felt very strongly about, but we wanted to do a little bit more research before we ended up offering him a scholarship. We felt comfortable offering and we feel he's going to be a tremendous football player."

If you're a boxing fan, you've heard of McCall's dad, Oliver McCall. He wore the WBC heavyweight belt after knocking out Lennox Lewis in 1994.

Yes, Mika'il tried boxing.

"I did a little bit," he said. "I'm still pretty good at that, but I think I'm much better at football."

Oliver McCall's nickname in the ring was "The Atomic Bull." Mika'il said he got a little of that.

"I've probably gotten some of the spirit he has for boxing," he said. "I put that to, obviously, football. He's a pretty high-spirited man, so that's something I took and used and harnessed for football."

McCall is walking into a competitive situation at Iowa.

Of course, sophomore Marcus Coker is the No. 1 going into spring practice. The 6-foot, 230-pounder is coming off an MVP performance in the Insight Bowl victory over Missouri -- 219 yards and two TDs. In just seven games, Coker finished with 622 yards and averaged 5.46 yards a carry.

After Coker, freshman De'Andre Johnson is the only other scholarship running back on campus.

Junior Adam Robinson made a plea during a press conference in Des Moines to be allowed back on the team. He was dismissed in January after being cited for marijuana possession the night before the Insight Bowl while he was suspended.

When asked about Robinson last week, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said "never say never." 

Thus, four running backs in the 2011 recruiting class.

That's OK with McCall. He said what you'd want to hear when the topic of competition came up.

"My father told me to be a running back, you have to have a certain swagger about you," said McCall, who rushed for 4,570 yards and 52 TDs at Thornridge.  One thing I did get from my dad was not fearing an opponent."

This is good because Iowa will once again be extremely young at running back. Greene's record run in 2008 was the last time the Hawkeyes started a running back above the sophomore class (three freshmen in 2009, sophomores and freshmen in 2010).

"The main thing that attracted me to Iowa was the fact that I should play as a first year," McCall said. "That's pretty big to be on the big stage as a freshman.

"We'll be young, but I think we can be pretty good as a running backs corps."

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