IOWA CITY, Iowa – On a rainy night when the Iowa Hawkeyes exceeded 40 points in their third straight home game, running back Kaleb Johnson tied the school record for single-season touchdowns. It was met almost with a shrug.
With his fourth three-touchdown performance of the season in a 42-10 win against Wisconsin, Johnson now has 20 trips to the end zone in nine games. It’s an impressive haul in any season but considering the Hawkeyes scored 20 offensive touchdowns in 14 games last year, it represents quite the turnaround.
So, what has changed for Iowa? First, an injury-riddled offensive line in 2023 has become a force in 2024. But in conjunction with that growth, Johnson has channeled his inconsistent potential into supreme production.
For teams that have faded out of College Football Playoff consideration, their best players often become overlooked. That’s doubly the case for running backs with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty putting up otherworldly numbers. But if you lead power conference running backs in rushing yards, touchdowns and explosive runs, you deserve to enter the Heisman conversation.
The word Heisman immediately embarrassed Johnson in a postgame interview. He clenched his lips and said, “I’m a humble person. So, whatever goes out there, goes out there, and whatever is said is said.” Then he quickly deflected to the team’s success.
Johnson doesn’t get off that easily, not when he has scored a touchdown in all nine games or at least two seven times. Johnson’s 20 touchdowns ties 2008 Doak Walker Award winner Shonn Greene for the most in Iowa history. Greene, who finished sixth in Heisman voting, was a consensus All-American and set the record in 13 games.
With 1,279 rushing yards, Johnson has the most by a back in the power conferences. He averages 7.5 yards per carry and has 20 runs of 20-plus yards. The next-best number this year is 15, which is held by Jeanty. The most anyone has had in the last five seasons was 23. Those numbers should get anyone into the Heisman debate.
Iowa boasts just one Heisman winner, and 1939 winner Nile Kinnick is synonymous with the program from the stadium name to the 12-foot statue that stands outside the south end zone. But the Hawkeyes also have the third-most Heisman Trophy runners-up with four. Kirk Ferentz coached one of them in 2002 in quarterback Brad Banks. Both Banks and Greene won the Big Ten’s Silver Football, which goes to the league’s most valuable player.
Could Johnson wind up in that category?
“I know the guy at Boise has a million yards,” Ferentz said. “Somebody is really raving about him. In fact, they were doing a little Heisman rundown. Sounds like there’s nobody else left from whoever this guy that was talking.
“I imagine (Johnson will) be in the conversation at some point if he keeps doing what he’s doing. We’ll promote him as best we can, just like we would anybody who is doing a great job.”
Against the Badgers, Johnson rushed for 134 yards on 24 carries. His longest carry was 16 yards, which he turned into a touchdown. The Hawkeyes rushed for 329 yards and the 32-point win was the program’s largest margin of victory against Wisconsin since 1968.
Johnson (6-foot, 225 pounds) always had the skill set to become an elite running back. In 2022, he set Iowa’s freshman rushing record (779 yards) and had a 200-yard game at Purdue. But he was injured early in 2023 and never got into a consistent groove. He flashed at times, including a West Division-clinching 39-yard touchdown run against Illinois, but his promise never matched his potential.
In the offseason, running backs coach Ladell Betts said he and Johnson had “very candid conversations” about finishing his runs. Johnson has a big frame and is capable of overpowering defenders. In his first two seasons, Johnson often ran too angular and didn’t apply his power.
“It’s something I have to continue to harp on with him, get those pads down and continue to hit guys with leverage,” said Betts, who played nine years in the NFL. “Because when he’s running that way and hitting guys with leverage, they bounce off of him.”
This year, every trait comes to the forefront. In Iowa’s zone scheme, Johnson presses the hole with patience, then blasts through it almost effortlessly. He boasts elite speed, which explains how he has 31 runs of 20-plus yards in his three seasons.
CBS college football analyst Aaron Taylor, a former All-American offensive lineman at Notre Dame, studied Johnson earlier this season and found his skill combined with Iowa’s offensive line as the key to the Hawkeyes’ success.
“It’s the combination of his patience, his burst, his contact balance, but also the offensive lineman winning at the point of attack the very last minute, or what they do after their feet stop or the stalemate occurs,” Taylor said.
Added Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck, who saw Johnson run for 206 yards and three touchdowns: “When you look at Kaleb Johnson, and what he’s been able to do, I think he’s one of the most underrated backs in all the country.”
Ferentz raved more about Johnson’s personal growth than his physical features.
“He’s got good ability obviously,” Ferentz said. “He’s got size, strength, speed, all those things you love to have.
“The thing I’m most impressed with is the approach, the maturity he’s playing with right now, practicing with. He’s like that all week long. He’s hard to bring down. He doesn’t go down with an arm tackle. A credit to him. He’s really figured out how to use what he has.”
Iowa still has three games for Johnson to make his Heisman case, including a prime-time game at UCLA this Friday. He may need a few more big-time performances to solidify his name as a true candidate. But as of today, he merits strong consideration.
(Photo: Jeffrey Becker / Imagn Images)
