Kaleb Johnson (running back)
American football player (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaleb Johnson (born August 14, 2003) is an American professional football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Steelers in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Johnson with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025 | |||||||||||||
| No. 20 – Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | August 14, 2003 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 224 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Hamilton (Hamilton, Ohio) | ||||||||||||
| College | Iowa (2022–2024) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2025 (3rd round, 83rd overall pick) | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||
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Early life
Johnson attended Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio. He was rated as a three-star recruit and the 36th overall running back in the class of 2022, receiving offers from schools such as California, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Pitt, Kentucky, Minnesota, Iowa, West Virginia, Ball State, Kent State, Liberty, Marshall, Miami University, Toledo, Western Michigan, and Eastern Kentucky.[1] Initially, Johnson committed to play college football for the California Golden Bears.[2] However, Johnson decided to flip his commitment to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes.[1]
College career
In his first two seasons at the University of Iowa in 2022 and 2023, Johnson rushed 268 times for 1,242 yards and nine touchdowns and hauled in seven receptions for 52 yards.[3][4] In the 2024 season opener, he rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries despite being suspended for the first half of the game, helping the Hawkeyes to a win over Illinois State.[5]
Through week 14 of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Johnson was fourth in the FBS in rushing yards (1,537) and scoring (23 touchdowns, 138 points), and fifth in rushing touchdowns (21).[6][7] After the conclusion of the regular season, Johnson was named first-team all-Big Ten and Big Ten Running Back of the Year, and a consensus first-team All-American. He was also a finalist for the Doak Walker Award.[8] Johnson established single-season records at Iowa for rushing touchdowns and scoring.
Statistics
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 224 lb (102 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.99 m) | 4.57 s | 1.62 s | 2.67 s | |||||
| All values from NFL Combine[9][10] | ||||||||||||
Johnson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 83rd pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.[11] 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. Obviously, he’s got some talent."[12]
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; after the kickoff bounced over Johnson and into the end zone, Johnson ran toward the sideline, as George Holani recovered the ball for a touchdown.[13] Johnson was subsequently benched ahead of Week 3's win over the New England Patriots, with kick return duties being designated to Kenneth Gainwell.[14] Johnson returned for Week 4's victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson showed considerable improvement following his benching in Week 3. He recorded a combined 12 rushes for 37 yards (3.1 yards per carry) across both games against the Vikings and Browns.[15]