cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Kaleb Johnson /Iowa

Kaleb Johnson

RB · Iowa · Jr · #2

Limited signal — not enough coverage for a story yet.

NOW IN NFLPittsburgh — drafted 2025, Rd 3, Pick 19, #83 overall

Where He Ended Up · NFL

PittsburghEntering 2nd NFL season

#83Rd 3 · Pick 19
PittsburghEntering 2nd NFL season

RB · IOWA · BIG TEN

Kaleb Johnson

  • 3
  • #2
  • 6-0 | 225 lb
  • Hamilton, OH

CFB Zeitgeist RB Score

Awaiting

Heisman Heat

#17

0.8% win probability

Fan Belief

Awaiting

Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.

Respect Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

Reality Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

ACCOLADE PROBABILITY

Heisman

0.8%

TOP RB AWARD

Doak Walker

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 3 · Recognized

R11 · National watch / fringe AA

National watch / fringe All-America. Knocking on the All-America door.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career arc · Season-by-season Standing

3 seasons on the ladder

Peak: R13 Consensus All-American · 2024

2022

Iowa · RB

2023

Iowa · RB

2024

Iowa · RB

R13 · Consensus All-American

Elite

NFL Draft 2025 · Rd 3, Pick 19 · #83 overall · Pittsburgh

Development Trajectory · rushing yards

2022–2024
7792022
4632023
1,5372024

+97%

Up 97% from first season to most-recent.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#354 national
CFB
College
Iowa
2022–2024
NFL
NFL Draft
R3 · #83
Pittsburgh · 2025

Heisman futures · live sportsbook odds

#29 in market ▼ from #23 · 5 books

+35002.8% implied▲ tightened from +6600

Identity & Role

The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.

PositionRB
Class3
Jersey2
Measurements6-0 | 225 lb
HometownHamilton, OH
Primary teamIowa

Recruiting Pedigree

How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.

Top pedigree 3-star No. 435 recruit
Composite rating 0.8889 HighSchool
Signed with Iowa 2022
Origin Hamilton Hamilton, OH, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8889 No. 435 recruit | HighSchool | Iowa
2021 4-star | 0.8956 No. 354 recruit | HighSchool | Iowa

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 0 No portal entry on file
Latest destination -- --
Transfer stars -- CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility -- Transfer date TBD
Season Move Context
No transfer portal moves on file for this player.

Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final

Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.

HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16
Current nowcast#17Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#29Where the full season sim points
Win probability0.8%Chance to actually win the trophy
Finalist probability0.0%Chance to make the finalist tier
Ballot probability36.9%Chance to appear anywhere on a ballot
Best official finish--Best completed Heisman placement on file

Heisman Futures

Not yet listed on major futures markets.

No achievements unlocked yet this season.

Selector Grid · 2025

AP
FWAA
AFCA
WCFF
SN
SI

Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.

NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft

Market value, pedigree & pro outcome

Recruit stars

★★★☆☆

to Iowa

Composite

0.8889

#435 national

NFL Draft

2025 · Rd 3, Pick 19

#83 overall · Pittsburgh

Today’s Hot-Take

The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.

Anti-Take

PENDING

The contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.

The Room on Kaleb Johnson

Fan sentiment · Awaiting signal

The Room reads fan conversation around a player — who’s talking, what they believe, and how that shifts. It publishes once weekly volume rebuilds; for most players that’s in-season, when game-week chatter spikes.

Cohort divergence map

Cohort divergence reads how different fanbases talk about this player. Returns once weekly mentions clear the publish floor.

Rival Radar

How rival fanbases talk about Kaleb Johnson

No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.

Signature Story

Awaiting candidate metric

He hasn't written his page yet — we'll start filling it in when there are enough snaps to rank against his peers.

Signature Moment

No signature moment on the ledger yet.

Returns once this player puts together a multi-game body of work — single-game flashes alone don't clear the bar.

A 3-act season arc returns once this player has six or more games on the ledger.

Scenario Explorer

Available for players with a qualifying signature metric (passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards, sacks, etc.). The slider projects how a season finishes if the current pace holds.

What made this player interesting

The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.

Kaleb Johnson's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Iowa, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.

Current place #17 0.8% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 37.2% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Honors spine 8 honors loaded

2024 Season · Final

Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.

Last season

RB season snapshot

2024 season snapshot | final

2024 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Scrimmage yards 1,725 1,537 rush | 188 rec | #4/735 (100th pct)
Rush TD 21 240 carries | #3/739 (100th pct)
Yards/carry 6.4 Per-rush efficiency | #86/735 (88th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Workhorse | Efficient runner | Passing-game back against FBS RB peers.

WorkhorseEfficient runnerPassing-game back

2024 Season · Final

2024 season snapshot | final

Rushing

CAR
240 99th
YDS
1,537 100th
YPC
6.4 88th
TD
21 100th

Receiving

REC
22 89th
YDS
188 88th
YPR
8.5 67th
TD
2 97th

Game Log

Week-by-week box

No per-game rows for this season yet — the table fills in as box scores arrive.

Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score

Traditional history

Traditional Stats

Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.

Season rows Career row

Season context · Team result + system

2022Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2023Iowa10-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2024Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2024Iowa2401,5376.421--
2023Iowa1174634.03--
2022Iowa1517795.26--
Career3 loaded seasons5082,7795.530--
SeasonTeam
2024Iowa221888.52--
2023Iowa3258.30--
2022Iowa4276.80--
Career3 loaded seasons292408.32--
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Rushing WEPA

Opponent-adjusted rushing value. It helps separate empty volume from carries that actually move the scoreboard.

Role share

How much of the team's offense flows through this back once rushing work and receiving work are combined.

Peer percentile

Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.

Traditional first

The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.

Receiving work 22 188 rec yds | #63/552 (89th pct)
Usage 37.2% 53.4% rush share | #2/738 (100th pct)
Rushing WEPA +0.39 Opponent-adjusted rush value | #2/362 (100th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Rushing Rushing yards 1,537 #4/735 100th pct Volumevs FBS RB
Rushing Rush TD 21 #3/739 100th pct Scoringvs FBS RB
Rushing Yards / carry 6.4 #86/735 88th pct Efficiencyvs FBS RB
Receiving Receptions 22 #63/552 89th pct Volumevs FBS RB
Receiving Receiving yards 188 #69/548 88th pct Volumevs FBS RB
Value Rushing WEPA +0.39 #2/362 100th pct Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 245 weighted playsvs FBS RB
Usage Role share 37.2% #2/738 100th pct Share of team offensevs FBS RB
Rushing Carries 240 #8/739 99th pct Volumevs FBS RB
Rushing Rushing LONG 75 #36/733 95th pct Metricvs FBS RB
Receiving Receiving LONG 72 #15/540 97th pct Metricvs FBS RB
Receiving Yards / catch 8.5 #183/548 67th pct Efficiencyvs FBS RB
Receiving Receiving TD 2 #20/552 97th pct Scoringvs FBS RB
Usage Rush share 53.4% #7/738 99th pct Ground-game usagevs FBS RB
Usage 1st-down usage 49.0% #1/738 100th pct Early-down loadvs FBS RB
Usage Standard-down usage 41.6% #2/738 100th pct Base-situation sharevs FBS RB
Usage 2nd-down usage 34.8% #5/738 99th pct Middle-down loadvs FBS RB
Usage Passing-down usage 24.9% #7/738 99th pct Known-passing sharevs FBS RB
Usage 3rd-down usage 17.9% #43/738 94th pct Money-down loadvs FBS RB
Usage Pass share 8.9% #46/738 94th pct Air-game usagevs FBS RB

Player Standing

Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.

AWAITING CLASSIFICATION

On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex

AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16

Why he’s here

Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.

What moves him up

What moves him down

Accolade streams

StatusAwaiting tracker

Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.

Splits

Per-game splits

Splits fill in once box scores from at least three games land for this season.

Box-score Savant card waits for a season-stat snapshot above the cohort floor. Returns once enough box-score volume lands.

Advanced Savant · RB · 2024

Percentile Card

Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.

P4G5All FBS
EPA / dropback
awaiting
CPOE
awaiting
Success rate
awaiting
Explosive rate (20+)
awaiting
aDOT
awaiting
Deep-ball accuracy
awaiting
Pressure-to-sack
awaiting
3rd-down EPA
awaiting
Red-zone TD rate
awaiting
Play-action EPA
awaiting
Scramble EPA
awaiting
Turnover-worthy play rate
awaiting

Advanced Savant

Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.

Advanced opponent-adjusted metrics are coming soon for this player. Selected cohort: P4.
Peer Comparator returns once this player clears the Savant metric floor (4+ scored bars).
DNA Match awaiting data — similarity scores compute once season stats clear the volume gate for this position cohort.

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Kirk Ferentz

Pass share

36.6%

286 pass / 495 run

Plays / game

60.1

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.9%

228 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2024

1 coach
2022
Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
2023
Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
2024
Kirk Ferentz
Iowa

Played his entire career under Kirk Ferentz.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.

HometownHamilton, OH
Height6'0"
Weight225 lb
Class3
PositionRB
Jersey2

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

8 entries
🏆

ALL-AMERICA · CONSENSUS

Consensus AA (2024)

4 first-team selectors

🥈

ALL-CONFERENCE · 1ST TEAM

All-Conf 1st team (2024)

All-Big Ten

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

All-America

5 All-America selections

National selector recognition is one of the strongest non-Heisman signals on a player card and should sit near the top of the showcase.

All-Conference

3 all-conference honors

Conference-level recognition helps anchor whether a player is merely statistically loud or actually viewed as elite within his competitive lane.

Honors Timeline

Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.

Season Honor Scope Team / Selector Context
2024 All-America (USA Today) all_america Iowa | USA Today RB
2024 All-America (SN) all_america Iowa | SN RB
2024 All-America (FWAA) all_america Iowa | FWAA RB
2024 All-America (WCFF) all_america Iowa | WCFF RB
2024 All-America (Consensus) all_america Iowa | Consensus --
2024 All-Big Ten all_conference Iowa | Big Ten RB
2024 All-Big Ten all_conference Iowa | Big Ten AMEC
2024 All-Big Ten all_conference Big Ten --

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season Team Role Latest Model Forecast Win Finalist Official Finish Points Context
2024 Iowa RB3 #17 #29 0.8% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten
2023 Iowa RB3 #542 #522 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Big Ten
2022 Iowa RB3 #342 #389 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big Ten

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2024 Iowa Big Ten RB 3 No. 2 | 6-0 | 225 lb | Hamilton, OH
2023 Iowa Big Ten RB 3 No. 2 | 6-0 | 225 lb | Hamilton, OH
2022 Iowa Big Ten RB 3 No. 2 | 6-0 | 225 lb | Hamilton, OH