Hawk Item – – Has 2,521 rushing yards on 438 carries, which ranks 11th in program history… his is 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… became the fifth player in program history to record two 200+ yard rushing games… has 11 100+ yard rushing games, which ranks seventh in program history… set Iowa freshman rushing record with 779 yards… rushed for 200 yards in win at Purdue in 2022, second highest single-game total by an Iowa freshman and 18th best total in program history… first true freshman to rush for over 100 yards in a game since Tyler Goodson, 2019.
2024 Honors – – Named to Maxwell Award midseason Watch List… Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his play vs. Wisconsin… Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Doak Walker Award Running Back of the Week for his play at Minnesota… Senior Bowl Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his play vs. Washington… 2024 – – Started at running back in eight games, marking his 19th career start… leads team in rushing with 1,279 yards on 170 carries (7.5 yards per carry avg.) and 19 touchdowns with a long run of 75 yards… leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the nation in rushing yards (1,279), rushing touchdowns (19), rushing yards per game (142.1), and total points scored (120)… the total points scored (120) ties Iowa’s single-season scoring record, while his rushing touchdowns (19) rank second and his rushing yards (1,279) rank seventh in single-season program history… leads the Big Ten and ranks fifth in the nation in all purpose yards (1,388) and rush yards per carry (7.5)… he has scored at least one touchdown in the last nine games, which is the longest stretch in program history, and has scored multiple touchdowns in seven games, which is believed to be a school record… also has 19 catches for 109 yards (long of 19 yards) and one touchdown… has 20 20+ yard rushes, six 40+ yard rushes and nine touchdown runs of 25+ yards this season… his seven 100+ yard games this season ranks seventh in program history… 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)… first Hawkeye since 2012 (Mark Weisman) to have multiple three touchdown-scoring games… 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)… 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 1,279 rushing yards are the most by a Hawkeye through the first eight games of the season since 2008 (Shonn Greene-1,374 yards)… first Iowa running back with two or more touchdowns in the first four games of the season since 1997 (Tavian Banks-12)… 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)… led team with 21 carries for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns (long of 40 yards) in 31-14 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)… led team with a career-high 25 carries for 173 yards (long of 39 yards) with two rushing touchdowns and caught one pass for 10 yards in 38-21 win over Troy… led team with a career-high 25 carries for 187 yards and two rushing touchdowns in 19-20 loss to Iowa State… also caught three passes for nine yards vs. Iowa State… led team with 24 carries for 135 yards (long of 16 yards) and three touchdowns in 42-10 win over Wisconsin… led team with 166 rushing yards on 21 carries (long of 53 yards) and two touchdowns, as well as three receptions for 22 yards and one touchdown in 40-16 win over Washington… led team with 119 rushing yards on 11 carries and and a two rushing touchdowns in season-opening 40-0 shutout of Illinois State… the 64-yard TD run is the fourth-longest of his career… led team with 109 rushing yards on 14 carries (long of 41 yards) and three touchdowns, as well as two receptions for nine yards in 40-14 win over Northwestern… led team with 98 rushing yards on 14 carries and one touchdown, with a career-high long run of 75 yards on the score – which is the 21st longest touchdown run in school history – and a career-high four catches for a career-high 49 yards, which a long reception of 19 yards, in 20-32 loss at Michigan State… led team with 86 rushing yards on 15 carries and one touchdown, with a long run of 28 yards, in 7-35 loss at #3/3 Ohio State… also caught two passes for five yards (long of four yards) and recorded his first career solo tackle at Ohio State.
"Kaleb Johnson is the total package. He shows everything: speed, power, patience, vision and toughness. Kaleb plays with a great amount of confidence."
Todd Blackledge, NBC Analyst
2023 Honors – – Preseason third-team All-Big Ten kick returner by Phil Steele… preseason fourth-team All-Big Ten by Athlon Sports… Doak Walker preseason Candidate… Next Man in Award, offense… 2023 – – Started at running back in five games, playing in 10… missed three games due to injury… 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… rushed 19 times for 63 yards and one touchdown in season-opening 24-14 win over Utah State… also returned game-opening kickoff for a career-high 54 yards vs. Utah State to set up first touchdown pass of the season… rushed 17 times for 134 yards and one touchdown, including a long of 67 yards, in 20-14 win vs. Purdue… had 17 rushes for 35 yards and caught one pass for four yards in 15-6 win at Wisconsin… rushed 15 times for 28 yards and returned one kickoff for 23 yards in 20-13 win at Iowa State… rushed 10 times for 53 yards, including a long rush of 30 yards that scored the go-ahead touchdown in 15-13 win over Illinois… rushed 10 times for 54 yards with a long rush of 27 yards in 22-0 win over Rutgers… rushed 10 times for 30 yards (long of eight yards) in 13-10 win at Nebraska… letterwinner.
2022 Honors – – Next Man In Award, offense… Next Man in Award, special teams… honorable mention Freshman All-America by College Football News… honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches and media… named Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week for his play in win at Purdue… 2022 – – Saw action in all 13 games, starting six games… rushed 151 times for 779 yards (5.2 yard avg.) and six touchdowns, which led the team.. returned 13 kickoffs for 325 yards (25.0 yard avg.), which also led the team… the 779 rushing yards ranks 37th for most yards in a season in program history and set an Iowa freshman record… rushed 22 times for season-high 200 yards and one touchdown in 24-3 win at Purdue… 75-yard touchdown run on second play of third quarter was longest for Iowa since 2020… also had two receptions for a career-high 17 yards… led rushing attack with 22 carries for 57 yards in 24-10 win over Wisconsin, including a four-yard touchdown… also had one reception for three yards… tallied 16 rushing attempts for 109 yards in 24-17 loss to Nebraska, including a 44-yard touchdown run… also had two kickoff returns for 54 yards… led rushing attack with 103 yards on seven attempts in 27-0 win over Nevada, with touchdown runs of 40 and 55 yards… also recorded one pass reception for seven yards and one kickoff return for 19 yards… had 15 rushing attempts for 58 yards in 27-10 win at Rutgers, with a long of nine yards… also had 77 yards on two kickoff returns, with a long of 42 yards… posted 12 rushing attempts for 32 yards and one touchdown vs. in 27-14 loss to #4 Michigan, with a long of 12 yards… touchdown came on two-yard run in fourth quarter… one kickoff return for 13 yards vs. Michigan… rushed 13 times for 93 yards in 33-13 win over Northwestern, with a long of 18 yards… one of eight true freshmen to see action… letterwinner.
High school honors – – Earned first-team all-state honors as a senior… first-team all-conference as a junior… honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore… AP Scholar and Honor Roll student as a prep… Career – – Three-year football letterman as running back… helped prep team reach state playoffs as a junior and senior… 155 rushing attempts for 1,004 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior… 114 carries for 786 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior… 878 yards and nine touchdowns on 141 rushing attempts as a sophomore… 140 rushing attempts for 631 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman… team captain as a junior and senior… also competed in basketball and track as a prep.
Personal – – Born 8/14/2003 in Cincinnati… enterprise leadership major… mother is Juanielle Finley and grandfather is Jeffery Strader… high school coach was Nate Mahon.
