‘‘I want to follow through and get back to Iowa. It’s my dream,’’ he said.

Remember Amari Spievey? He was a cornerback who came to Iowa in 2005. After his redshirt year, he was looking good in spring practices, but grades and homesickness forced him out of the program. Most of us had written Spievey off as another casualty of attrition that's been so typical as of late; after all, there have been a lot more Kalvin Baileys than Clinton Solomons.

But now he's on track to return next season, which is great news for a Hawkeye team that'll be losing starting cornerbacks Charles Godfrey and Adam Shada. His character and goal-oriented focus are exactly what this program needs from a leadership standpoint.

Not only is the Iowa program in need of leadership, but the Hawkeyes could use some playmakers. Fortunately, Spievey can help in that area as well:

A terrific athlete, he could play on either side of the ball for Iowa Central and probably at Iowa too, though he’s now comfortable as a cover corner.

As a special teams player he’s been deadly, and he doesn’t see many kickoffs reaching him either. He doesn’t return punts, but he blocks them.

Special teams! Iowa could use a resurgence in that department.

Run, Amari, run!

Yep, I'll say that Amari Spievey's return is nothing but great news for the program.