Early in the fourth quarter of Iowa's 13-10 come-from-behind win over Nebraska, the Hawkeyes were trailing 10-3.
Throughout the game, the Cornhuskers had keyed on Iowa's explosive junior running back, Kaleb Johnson, and would limit him to 45 yards on 17 carries, the lowest output of his magnificent 2024 season.
As great players do, however, Johnson found a different way to will his team to a victory.
On second-and-13 at the Iowa 28, Hawkeyes quarterback Jackson Stratton dropped back to pass. He dumped the ball off to Johnson in the flat with blockers out in front of him.
Despite a solid wall of blockers in front of him, Johnson was contacted by the first Nebraska defender just behind the line of scrimmage. Powering through that, he was hit again just beyond the line of scrimmage by two more defenders. Breaking those tackles, bounced to the sideline at his own 40, cutting back inside just beyond the 50 to make another Nebraska defender miss. From there it was a footrace, and none of the Nebraska defenders were going to catch Johnson as he finished off a 72-yard touchdown that would account for nearly half of Iowa's yards in the victory.
A victory in which the Hawkeyes would run just 41 plays compared to 76 for the Cornhuskers. A victory in which Iowa was outgained 334-164 and managed just five first downs compared to 20 for Nebraska.
"Ironically, the biggest play came on a pass play, not a run play with Kaleb," said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. "We threw a little swing screen out to the right, and I don't know if it was like 5, 6, 7 guys bounced off of it. My point is, in that game, like, it was pretty apparent, we were struggling offensively. We weren't moving the ball. They weren't really moving it either. And to me, that's what good players do, you know, a really good player in a game like that, and we needed to do something. And he just made a play that gave us a chance to be in the game."
And win it.
In a season in which Iowa used three different quarterbacks, averaged 20 pass attempts and just over 130 yards in the air per game, the Hawkeyes went 8-5, largely on the strength of a solid offensive line, the exploits of Johnson and a very good defense.
Despite everyone in the stadium in every given game knowing that Johnson was going to get the football – he and Boise State's Ashton Jenty were the only players in major college football last season to account for more than 40 percent of their team's offensive output – Johnson produced time and again.
It's nothing new for the talented running back. He's been doing those kinds of things all of his life growing up in suburban Cincinnati.
"I remember still playing our crosstown rival Fairfield," said former Hamilton High School head coach Nate Mahon, Johnson's high school coach. "And, you know, he just took an option pitch to the house. And then against Colerain, I specifically remember Kirk's son was there, Brian, he was still the offensive coordinator, and (former Iowa running backs coach) Ladell Betts, they both came to this game. We're playing Colerain, and we can't block anybody. Everybody knows he's getting the ball. I want to say he probably broke about 13 tackles. And then there he went down the sideline, and I remember Brian Ferentz and Ladell Betts in the end zone, I think they raised their arms as he scored, you know what I mean? And I was like, 'yeah, that's, that's pretty cool.'"
Johnson is a crowd pleaser. And now, perhaps, he can have that same kind of impact for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh selected the 6-foot-1, 224-pound running back in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft knowing it is getting a powerful runner, but one capable of being a game breaker.
"(We are) excited about getting Kaleb Johnson in here," said Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. "Really explosive running back that we spent some time with. One of the more instinctive backs that I've watched in a couple of years coming out of the draft. (He's a) perfect fit regardless of whatever run scheme you're running. He ran multiple (schemes) at Iowa. Really impressive as a volume runner as the game went on, and one of the more impressive stats you've seen in the fourth quarter -- what he averaged in the fourth quarter. I believe it was over 5 yards per carry. Might have been closer to 6. We think he's a great culture fit. Obviously extremely fired up to get Kaleb in here."
Perhaps not as fired up as Johnson is to join the Steelers, trading the black and gold uniforms worn by Iowa to the black and gold of Pittsburgh.
"I love it here," Johnson said at the Steelers' rookie minicamp. "I can't wait to get to play on Sundays with these guys, and just overall compete. That's the main thing right now - compete, learn the playbook, and get ready for Sunday."
To get to the point of playing on Sundays, Johnson had to dominate on Fridays and then Saturdays first.
Prior to his senior season at Hamilton High School just north of Cincinnati, Johnson committed to play at the University of California, picking the Golden Bears over offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Iowa State, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State and others.
But after taking an official late visit to Iowa, he flipped his commitment to the Hawkeyes.
"He was committed to Cal and kind of just wanted to be done with the recruiting process," said Mahon. "And then I had a friend of mine. His name's George Barnett. He's the offensive line coach at Iowa. George was actually at Miami, Ohio, under Chuck Martin for a long time. And so I played at Miami, Ohio, so I've gotten to know Chuck Martin and his staff and George for a while. So anyway, when George got the offensive line job for Iowa. He called me and said, 'Is Caleb set on going to Cal?' and I said, 'You know, I don't know, what's your thoughts?' And he said, 'We really like him. We'd love for him to just take a visit.'
"I convinced Caleb to go up there. So myself and my family took Caleb and his grandfather, Jeffrey, all went, and that was the game that Iowa, I think, when they were No. 5 or 6 in the country, and they beat No. 2, Penn State, and he changed his commitment, and the rest is history."
In today's college football landscape, getting a player to commit is one thing. Keeping them at one school is another.
But one of the hallmarks of the Iowa program is that players go there and largely stay there.
Johnson rushed for a team-best 779 yards as a true freshman, but injuries limited him to just 10 games and 117 carries in his sophomore season, when he rushed for 463 yards.
Last season, he rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns on just 240 carries, adding 22 receptions for 188 yards and two more scores. The Hawkeyes scored 40 offensive touchdowns in 2024 and Johnson accounted for 23 of them.
"We've had some challenges at the quarterback position due to injuries and our receivers," Ferentz said. "We're closer to getting those addressed. But the best thing we did last year's running the football. We had a pretty veteran line, and then, you know, Kaleb just did a great job. And I think the thing about it, we all knew he was a good player. He played pretty well his freshman year, not as productive the second year. He just took a huge step last year and really blossomed and played and practiced with great consistency. Week in and week out, we knew what was going to look like across the ball, and the guys up front did a good job. The receivers did a good job blocking, tight ends, and Kaleb just played fantastic football."
Johnson is quick to credit his teammates for his 2024 season, as well.
"My offensive line, I feel like the guys that were up front for me, it wasn't just relationships on the field, it was just off the field. We hung out. We had a bond that it was just all of us together," Johnson said. "It was great. So when we got on the field, it was just there. It was chemistry. And I feel like they block their butts off of me, and so did the wide receivers and tight ends. So I feel like they helped me make those big plays, big time. If it wasn't for them, I won't be able to score touchdowns."
Johnson's ability had a little something to do with it, as well.
A patient runner, Johnson has the ability to read things well, find a hole and power through opposing defenders. And while his timed speed of 4.57 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine isn't blazing, Johnson routinely reached speeds of over 21 miles per hour with top speeds of 22 mph according to in-game GPS on-field measurements.
Because of that and his teammates doing a good job blocking downfield, Johnson's 21 carries for 20 or more yards last year were the second-most in the FBS last season.
"He always looks like he's running it like 89 percent but he's running past everybody," Mahon said. "It's a weird Adrian Peterson-Eric Dickerson thing. And you know, he's maybe not sprinting all the way, but you know, those Big Ten DBs are pretty good, and he was always outrunning them to the end zone. So he must be pretty fast. He ran the 200 to 100 and the 4x100 in high school. He was always big, strong and fast."
His top time in the 100 in high school was 11.26 seconds, which is excellent, while his time in the 200 was 22.25 seconds. Johnson is not slow by any stretch of the imagination.
And he's a player that has just grown in every year.
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"He came here with some pretty good ability," Ferentz said. "He didn't just develop overnight. He came here with a good start. The biggest thing, I would say, is just his approach, his maturity, we saw a big jump last year. That's a great thing about college athletics. It happens in the NFL to maybe not as dramatically, but it's fun to see guys hit their stride and really kind of figure out what they need to do to be truly successful. And Kaleb certainly did that last year."
He can continue to do that with the Steelers.
Smith wants to run the ball. The Steelers were one of just four NFL teams in 2024 to run the ball more than they threw it.
With the departure of Najee Harris in free agency, the Steelers will need to replace his 299 total touches in their offense.
Jaylen Warren will get some of that. So, too, could free agent pickup Kenneth Gainwell. But there's a good chance Johnson gets a large chunk of that, as well.
"I feel like me and Warren and all the other running backs have got a very good opportunity to do good here and do great things," Johnson said. "I'm just going to go in there as a rookie, learn from Warren. Learn from Gainwell, and really just put my hat down and keep going."
