Johnson Eager Full Bigger Role
by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published October 8, 2025, 4:47 PM
By the time practice wrapped in Pittsburgh, most players were already heading for the locker room. But Kaleb Johnson, the rookie running back out of Iowa, stayed behind. Under the fading afternoon light, he caught pass after pass from the jugs machine the kind of quiet extra work that often tells you more about a player than any stat sheet could.
“I always laugh because whoever I plan to talk to after practice,” I thought, “is usually the one still out here putting in work.”
That fits Johnson perfectly. He arrived in Pittsburgh with the résumé of a proven workhorse. Last season at Iowa, the Hamilton, Ohio native carried the ball 240 times for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading the Big Ten in all three categories and earning consensus First-Team All-American honors. The Steelers took notice, and by the time the 2025 NFL Draft rolled around, they had already done their homework on the physical, downhill back who had powered the Hawkeyes offense.
Now, Johnson’s learning to adjust to a much different pace. Through the early part of his rookie season, he’s logged just eight carries for 21 yards, a long way from the 30-carry Saturdays he was used to in Iowa City. Still, there’s no hint of impatience in his voice, just determination.
“Yeah, yeah. For me, going from 30 to two, it’s a change,” Johnson said with a grin. “But you know, I have to adapt to it and really learn from the guys ahead of me. They’re vets, so I got to really just stick my nose in and watch them, because they did this before.”
One of those vets is Kenneth Gainwell, a Super Bowl–winning running back from Philadelphia now in his first season with the Steelers. Gainwell’s been where Johnson is — waiting behind established names, trying to prove he belongs and he sees a lot of promise in the rookie.
“Yeah, he’s like a sponge,” Gainwell said. “He’s coming along real good, especially after what happened a couple weeks ago,” he added, referencing Johnson’s rookie miscue that led to a touchdown on kickoff coverage. “But he’s taking the right approach. He wants to get better every day. He’s showing it in practice running hard, catching the ball, doing all the small detail things that make a great back.”
Gainwell remembers being in that spot himself, waiting behind Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard, and Boston Scott during his early years in Philadelphia.
“I was just the tech guy from the beginning,” Gainwell said. “But at the same time, I elevated and matured the right way. Now it’s my turn to help the young ones the same way those guys helped me.”
That mentorship is resonating with Johnson.
“Shoot, stick your nose down and work,” Johnson said. “Don’t do talking. Just stop talking and work.”
He laughed when asked if there’s any silver lining to being on the sidelines more than he’s used to.
“Oh yeah, staying healthy,” he said. “But other than that, I’m just so used to having all them touches that it’s a change.”
And when the moment finally comes for his first NFL touchdown, don’t expect anything flashy. There will be no celebration from Johnson. He is old-school in that style of finding paydirt.
“Shoot, man, I don’t even dance,” Johnson said. “I just hand the ball to the ref. Just appreciate it.”
That quiet gratitude, that willingness to do the work when no one’s watching it’s the essence of Pittsburgh football. The city awaits this third-round pick to join the ranks of some of the league upper echelon of running backs suiting up in the Black-and-Gold.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
