Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson reemerges as big-play threat in third year with Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY — When Ladell Betts started as Iowa’s running backs coach in 2021 and met with the recruiting staff, Iowa already had some running back recruits in its system.

“Let’s just say there’s 20 names there,” Betts said this week. “I watch all 20, and there’s maybe five or six of those guys that I say, ‘OK, I like these five or six.’”

One of those five or six was a young Kaleb Johnson from Hamilton, Ohio, and Johnson became the first player to receive an offer from Iowa’s new running backs coach.

“His running style and his high school tape — I was drawn to him immediately,” Betts said.

Three years later, Betts’ early eye for talent is paying impressive dividends as Johnson, now in his third season, has enjoyed a stellar first two games of the 2023 season.

Johnson’s 153 rushing yards per game ranks fourth nationally and second in the Big Ten. His four rushing touchdowns are fifth-best in the country and tied with Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai for best in the Big Ten.

“I kept believing in myself, and I kept just saying, ‘I’m going to get there, I’m going to get there,’” Johnson said. “So finally it’s here. … Keep my head down, keep pushing forward.”

The numbers are even more impressive considering Johnson was held out of the first half of Iowa’s season opener against Illinois State. The only other FBS player to have 300-plus rushing yards in their team’s last three halves is Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.

Johnson’s 187 rushing yards last week were the most for a Hawkeye against Iowa State in the Kirk Ferentz era. He had four carries of 25-plus yards, including a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 54-yard gain in the third quarter.

“Obviously had some really nice runs the other day,” Ferentz said. “I thought his best runs were at the end of the game where he ran strong and broke some tackles. There wasn’t a lot there, but he was making yards. So to me, if he can keep integrating that into his style of play, that’s really going to help us.”

To Ferentz’s point, 112 of Johnson’s 187 yards came after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. He now is averaging 6.1 yards after contact per carry, which is third-best nationally among running backs with 25-plus attempts.

After past years with a running back rotation that seemed to be a by-committee approach, Johnson has appeared to be the unequivocal No. 1 running back so far this year for the Hawkeyes.

Johnson has taken 36 of Iowa’s 55 non-quarterback rushing attempts since halftime of the Illinois State game.

“More often than not, it’s been K.J.,” Betts said. “Usually, if he’s not in, it’s because he needs a breather or it might be certain situations where he may have not had a ton of reps at a particular play.”

That workload — roughly 65 percent — if continued over the course of the season, would be much larger than Leshon Williams’ team-high 41 percent workload in 2023 or Johnson’s 43 percent workload in 2022.

It’s not like Iowa has a shortage of alternatives at running back either.

Williams, now a senior, was sixth last year in the Big Ten with 821 rushing yards. Kamari Moulton has made a strong impression on coaches since arriving on campus in 2023 and earned his first career start in the 2024 season opener. Jaziun Patterson rushed for 206 yards last year and had two touchdowns.

Williams and Patterson dealt with injuries earlier in the year. But Ferentz said this week Williams is “healthy,” and Betts said Patterson is “starting to look like the old Jaz” in practice.

How Kaleb Johnson has improved as a running back

Ferentz has particularly noticed Johnson’s strides in “maturity and focus.”

“It's like any player,” Ferentz said. “It's rare for a freshman to play (like) a veteran guy — rare. But he did a lot of good things the last two years.”

Betts specifically pointed to many of the things Johnson is now doing in practice as part of the reason for his improvement.

“He’s done a better job of creating positive practice habits, whether it’s just working on the details, whatever it is, in terms of pass protection, in terms of routes, in terms of running the ball,” Betts said. “But the biggest difference that I think I saw from the initial part of training camp was just how much he was finishing in practice, sprinting 30, 40 yards after contact. So I could tell he was on a bit of a mission.”

Johnson, asked about where he feels he has progressed, pointed to several of the “little details” — “knowing what to do on third down, fourth down, being able to be an every-down back, being physical, finishing my runs and running with the speed I got.”

Untouched 🤯@Kj_Superman2 x #Hawkeyes

pic.twitter.com/4nsnVMsZSU

— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) September 7, 2024

Other factors have helped Johnson, including an “unbelievable” offensive line ahead of him. All five of Iowa’s starting offensive linemen had at least 10 career starts before this season. Three of them had 25-plus starts entering this season — Mason Richman with 39, Connor Colby with 36 and Logan Jones with 26.

“When they know what they’re doing, they’re hitting it, then it’s always open,” Johnson said. “So I just really give credit to them.”

Iowa’s emphasis on mid-zone runs as part of new offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s Shanahan-style system also seems to be benefiting Johnson.

“That was kind of a staple of (Lester’s) offense and a staple of the Shanahan system, so we emphasized it from spring ball,” Betts said. “And it wasn’t pretty at first, but we kept repping it. … The guys are getting a better understanding of the tracks. The offensive linemen are getting a better understanding of their attack points. And I think you’re starting to see those things mesh and gel together.”

Why Kaleb Johnson stayed at Iowa

  Buy Photo

Johnson’s potential has been no secret in Iowa City. He started six games in 2022 as a true freshman — the most for a running back in the Ferentz era.

He finished the year as an all-Big Ten honorable mention, and he was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after this 200-yard day against Purdue. He averaged 3.3 yards after contact, per PFF, which was sixth-best among Big Ten running backs with 100-plus attempts.

Johnson’s sophomore season was a bit of a setback. He had 463 rushing yards while averaging 4.0 yards per carry in 2023, which marked a significant drop-off from 779 yards and 5.2 yards per carry in 2022.

“I realized that I was still young, so I was still cheering on my boys and waiting for my time to come,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s ankle injury — one that kept him out for four weeks — was the “biggest hurdle that he encountered,” Betts said.

“When he came back, he still didn’t feel quite himself,” Betts said. “He didn’t really trust the ankle a whole lot. He had to work on some of his bad habits in terms of pass protection and just running nature. He had to work through all those kinks.”

The transfer portal would have been a possible outcome for a running back facing Johnson’s scenario — fewer carries in 2023 than 2022 and heavy competition at the position.

“A lot of people came to me and asked me if I’m going,” Johnson said. “I said, ‘No, I’m staying here. This is home, so this is where I want to be.’”

Between Iowa’s stability and “how the little things matter so much here,” Evashevski Drive was home to Johnson’s best development opportunity.

“If you go to another school, you never know what they have,” Johnson said.

The development opportunity at Iowa comes with a position coach who played in 111 NFL games and remains the second-leading rusher in Hawkeye program history.

“He’s been in the league for 10 years, so whatever he says, I’m listening to and I’m taking that into consideration and putting on the field,” Johnson said.

Now, Johnson is at pace to eclipse his coach’s best single-season rushing total by the end of October.

“He came back hungry, healthy and now you’re witnessing what you’re witnessing,” Betts said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

Sign up for our curated Iowa Hawkeyes athletics newsletter at thegazette.com/hawks.