Kaleb Johnson: From Iowa Hawkeye to Pittsburgh Steeler
Kaleb Johnson, born on August 14, 2003, is an American professional football running back currently playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). His journey to the NFL was paved with impressive performances at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, and later at the University of Iowa.
High School Career
Johnson attended Hamilton High School, where he showcased his talent as a running back. He earned first-team all-state honors during his senior year. As a junior, he received first-team all-conference recognition, and as a sophomore, he was an honorable mention all-conference selection. In addition to his athletic achievements, Johnson was an AP Scholar and Honor Roll student. He was a three-year football letterman and served as team captain during his junior and senior years, helping his team reach the state playoffs. Over his high school career, Johnson recorded impressive statistics, including 155 rushing attempts for 1,004 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior, 114 carries for 786 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior, and 878 yards and nine touchdowns on 141 rushing attempts as a sophomore. He also had 140 rushing attempts for 631 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman.
Collegiate Career at Iowa
Johnson's collegiate career at the University of Iowa saw him develop into one of the nation's premier running backs.
2022 Season
In 2022, Johnson played in all 13 games, starting six. He led the team with 151 rushing attempts for 779 yards (5.2-yard average) and six touchdowns. He also led the team with 13 kickoff returns for 325 yards (25.0-yard average). His 779 rushing yards set an Iowa freshman record and ranked 37th for most yards in a season in program history. He rushed for a season-high 200 yards and one touchdown in a win at Purdue, earning him Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors. This performance was the second-highest single-game total by an Iowa freshman and the 18th best total in program history. Johnson also had a 75-yard touchdown run, the longest for Iowa since 2020. Against Wisconsin, he led the rushing attack with 22 carries for 57 yards, including a four-yard touchdown. He tallied 16 rushing attempts for 109 yards against Nebraska, including a 44-yard touchdown run, and also had two kickoff returns for 54 yards. Against Nevada, he had 103 yards on seven attempts, with touchdown runs of 40 and 55 yards. He also recorded one pass reception for seven yards and one kickoff return for 19 yards. Against Rutgers, he posted 12 rushing attempts for 32 yards and one touchdown, along with 77 yards on two kickoff returns. He had 15 rushing attempts for 58 yards against Michigan, with a touchdown on a two-yard run. Against Northwestern, he rushed 13 times for 93 yards. He was one of eight true freshmen to see action and earned a letterwinner award. He also earned honorable mention Freshman All-America honors by College Football News and honorable mention All-Big Ten honors by league coaches and media.
2023 Season
In 2023, Johnson started at running back in five games, playing in 10. He missed three games due to injury. He rushed 117 times for 463 yards (4.0 yards per carry avg., 46.3 yards per game avg.) and three touchdowns, with a long rush of 67 yards, on the season. In the season-opening win over Utah State, he rushed 19 times for 63 yards and one touchdown and returned the game-opening kickoff for a career-high 54 yards. He rushed 17 times for 134 yards and one touchdown against Purdue, including a long of 67 yards. He had 17 rushes for 35 yards and caught one pass for four yards against Wisconsin. He rushed 15 times for 28 yards and returned one kickoff for 23 yards against Iowa State. He rushed 10 times for 53 yards, including a long rush of 30 yards that scored the go-ahead touchdown against Illinois. He rushed 10 times for 54 yards against Rutgers and 10 times for 30 yards against Nebraska. He earned the Next Man in Award for both offense and special teams. He was also named a preseason third-team All-Big Ten kick returner by Phil Steele, a preseason fourth-team All-Big Ten by Athlon Sports, and a Doak Walker preseason Candidate.
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2024 Season
The 2024 season was a breakout year for Johnson. He started at running back in 11 games, marking his 22nd career start. Johnson led the team in rushing with 1,537 yards on 240 carries (6.4 yards per carry avg.) and 21 touchdowns with a long run of 75 yards. He also had 22 receptions for 188 yards (long of 72 yards) and two touchdowns. Johnson led the Big Ten and ranked sixth in the nation in total points scored (138), rushing touchdowns (21), and rushing yards per game (128.1). He led the Big Ten and ranked seventh in the nation in rushing yards (1,537). Johnson led the Big Ten and ranked eighth in the nation in all-purpose yards (1,725). The total points scored (138), total touchdowns (23), and rushing touchdowns (21) are single-season school records, while the rushing yards (1,537) rank third in single-season program history. Johnson led the Big Ten and ranked 12th in the nation in rush yards per carry (6.4). He scored at least one touchdown in the last 12 games, which is the longest stretch in program history, and scored multiple touchdowns in seven games, which is believed to be a school record. He had 21 20+ yard rushes, six 40+ yard rushes, and nine touchdown runs of 25+ yards this season. His eight 100+ yard games this season rank second in program history. Johnson was the first Hawkeye to record four straight 100+yard rushing games since 2012 (Mark Weisman) and the first Hawkeye to score two touchdowns or more in four consecutive games since 2012 (Mark Weisman). He was the first Hawkeye since 2012 (Mark Weisman) to have multiple three touchdown-scoring games. Johnson was one of just three Big Ten players with 680+ rushing yards and 9+ touchdowns through a team’s first four games since 2000 (Javon Ringer, Michigan State, 2008; Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota, 2020). He was one of four Big Ten tailbacks with 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns in four straight games in the last 10 years (Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota, 2020; Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State, 2014; Jeremy Langford, Michigan State, 2014). His 1,537 rushing yards were the most by a Hawkeye through the first 12 games of the season since 2008 (Shonn Greene-1,729 yards). Johnson was the first Iowa running back with two or more touchdowns in the first four games of the season since 1997 (Tavian Banks-12). He was the fifth Hawkeye in program history to have multiple career 200-yard games (Sedrick Shaw-250/214, Tavian Banks-314/204, Shonn Greene-217/211, Marcus Coker-252/219). He led the team with 21 carries for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns in a win at Minnesota, becoming the fifth Hawkeye in school history to record two career 200+ yard rushing games and the first Hawkeye to score three touchdowns in a game since 2021 (Tyler Goodson). He led the team with a career-high 35 carries for 164 yards and one touchdown, and caught one pass for six yards in a win at Maryland. The 35 attempts are the most in a single game for the Hawkeyes since 2015. At Maryland, he and teammate Kamari Moulton (114 yards) became the first Hawkeye duo to post 100+ rushing yards in the same game since 2016. He led the team in rushing and receiving in a win over Nebraska. He led the team with 25 carries for 173 yards with two rushing touchdowns and caught one pass for 10 yards in a win over Troy. He led the team with 25 carries for 187 yards and two rushing touchdowns against Iowa State. He led the team with 24 carries for 135 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Wisconsin. He led the team with 166 rushing yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, as well as three receptions for 22 yards and one touchdown in a win over Washington. He led the team with 119 rushing yards on 11 carries and two rushing touchdowns in a shutout of Illinois State. He led the team with 109 rushing yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns, as well as two receptions for nine yards in a win over Northwestern. He led the team with 98 rushing yards on 14 carries and one touchdown at Michigan State, with a career-high long run of 75 yards.
By the end of his college career, Johnson had recorded 2,779 rushing yards on 508 carries, which ranks sixth in program history. He became the 17th player in school history to rush for over 2,000 yards and was the 51st player in school history to rush for over 1,000 career yards. He became the fifth player in program history to record two 200+ yard rushing games and had 12 100+ yard rushing games, which ranks sixth in program history.
His outstanding performance in 2024 earned him numerous accolades, including FWAA, Phil Steele, Sporting News, and Walter Camp first-team All-America honors, AP and AFCA second-team All-America honors, the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year award, first-team All-Big Ten honors, unanimous selection AP first-team All-Big Ten honors, Phil Steele first-team All-Big Ten honors, Doak Walker Award finalist honors, Maxwell and Walter Camp Award semifinalist honors, AP, CBS Sports, Sporting News, The Athletic Midseason All-America honors, Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honors for his performance at Minnesota, Senior Bowl Co-Offensive National Player of the Week honors for his performance vs. Washington, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance vs. Wisconsin, the Roy Carver MVP, offense award, and UI September Male Athlete of the Month honors.
NFL Career with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Johnson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 83rd pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. In July 2025, Johnson received early praise from head coach Mike Tomlin during training camp, with Tomlin stating "He’s come in really in good shape. He’s really engaged."
2025 Season
On September 14, 2025, in Pittsburgh's game against the Seattle Seahawks, Johnson made an error on a kickoff return that allowed Seattle to recover their own kickoff for a touchdown. Johnson was subsequently benched ahead of Week 3's win over the New England Patriots, with kick return duties being designated to Kenneth Gainwell. Johnson returned for Week 4's victory over the Minnesota Vikings and showed considerable improvement following his benching in Week 3.
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Player Profile
Kaleb Johnson is described as a bruising one-cut runner who fits well as a zone-scheme runner. Standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing 224 pounds, Johnson brings size to the Steelers' running back depth chart. According to one scout, "Kaleb Johnson is the total package. He shows everything: speed, power, patience, vision, and toughness. Kaleb plays with a great amount of confidence."
During his college career, Johnson faced stacked boxes on over 50 percent of his runs. He had at least one touchdown in all 12 Iowa games in 2024 and finished second with 21 runs of 20 or more yards despite facing loaded boxes more than all but three of the other 133 FBS teams. Johnson accounted for just over 40 percent of Iowa's offense in 2024. He had 22 receptions for 188 yards and two touchdowns in 2024.
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