Iowa running back, Kaleb Johnson is a very good football player. Through four games he’s rushed for nearly 700 yards, is averaging over eight yards per carry, and already has nine touchdowns. But going into Ohio Stadium to face the No. 3 team in the land will be a different animal than what Johnson has seen before. And he may have just thrown gasoline on what will already be a raging fire for the Hawkeyes.
Johnson is an Ohio native hailing from Hamilton, Ohio. However, Ohio State never came calling when it was time to recruit. Maybe the Buckeyes should have given Johnson a look as Dallan Hayden was the only running back in that 2022 recruiting class, and he — of course — has since moved on to Colorado.
When asked if he ever wanted to go to OSU, Johnson’s response might raise some eyebrows saying “Even if they would’ve offered me, I wouldn’t have like went because I feel like I want to beat them.” Take a listen for yourself.
"I wanna beat the top dogs. I don't wanna be with them. I want to beat them".
Kaleb Johnson says he never gave much of a thought to going to Ohio State, even though he grew up less than 2 hours from Columbus. pic.twitter.com/3vmnx3AhWN— Owen Siebring (@owensiebring) October 1, 2024
The defense knows in order to stop Iowa, it has to stop Johnson and that’s exactly what it’ll key on doing … maybe now with a little extra motivation.
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