Latest news with #BigTenRunningBackoftheYear
USA Today
21-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Loaded Iowa football offensive line boasts Big Ten's top returning tackle Gennings Dunker
The 2025 season for the Iowa Hawkeyes may run through the offensive line. The veteran group of linemen is loaded with Logan Jones at center, Connor Colby next to him, and Gennings Dunker as well. The group has experience, talent, and confidence from last season, where they paved the way for more than 2,500 rushing yards and opened up lanes for Kaleb Johnson on his way to an All-American year as the 2024 Big Ten Running Back of the Year. The trio could be the heart and soul of Tim Lester's offense with quarterback transfer Mark Gronowski under center. Fortunately, for Gronowski, he will have the best returning Big Ten offensive tackle protecting him in Genning Dunker. Dunker has topped Pro Football Focus' list of the highest-graded returning offensive tackles in the Big Ten ahead of 2025. Gennings Dunker enters his fourth season with Iowa and has 25 starts to his name after starting each game he was healthy over the last two years. The 2024 season saw him earn Second-Team All-Big Ten Honors from the coaches and Associated Press. A classic case of development, like so many Iowa Hawkeyes' success stories, Dunker was a three-star recruit from Lena Winslow High School in Lena, Illinois. As part of the class of 2021, he was the No. 38 interior offensive lineman, the No. 15 recruit in Illinois, and the No. 535 overall recruit, per 247Sports. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praising former Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson early in career
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praising former Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson early in career The next former Iowa Hawkeyes talent who could be in a starting role in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season is former running back Kaleb Johnson. The former All-American at Iowa and Big Ten Running Back of the Year rewrote part of Iowa's history books with his tremendous 2024 season in Iowa City and is continuing to don the black and gold with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Drafted No. 83 overall in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft, Johnson joins a situation that could see him earn a lot of playing time and carries early in his career. His collegiate tape and early impressions are being felt in Pittsburgh, as Steelers long-time head coach Mike Tomlin is praising Kaleb Johnson early on in his career. "This is a high-volume, capable runner who was the center of his offense, a lot of NFL, Sunday-like runs, if you will. Meaning he did it from the home position or the pistol position into a lot of loaded boxes. It wasn't a lot of guesswork or Saturday-like holes on his tape, and that made the evaluation a fun one and the projection an easy one," Tomlin said about Johnson coming out of college. Kaleb Johnson brings size to the Steelers' running back room as he stands 6-foot-1 and has a 225-pound frame. Tomlin was asked about that factoring into their decision to draft him, but continued to praise his play above all else. "Less concerned about the measurables and really more concerned about the play style and the resume, and certainly he is a guy that's capable of high-volume carries," Tomlin continued. In a recent turn of events, Kaleb Johnson will now have the opportunity to play alongside future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is joining the Steelers. Kaleb Johnson and Aaron Rodgers are acquainted as well, as the two spent time working out together earlier this offseason. His presence in the backfield and command of the offense could make life easier for Johnson in the run game as well as up his usage in the passing game. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Pittsburgh Steelers crush NFL draft grades with former Iowa football RB Kaleb Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers crush NFL draft grades with former Iowa football RB Kaleb Johnson Some picks just make sense. Kaleb Johnson, the former Iowa Hawkeyes All-American and 2024 Big Ten Running Back of the Year, landing with the hard-nosed, tough Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2025 NFL Draft is one of those things. Taken in the third round with the No. 83 pick overall, Johnson gives the Steelers a downhill, workhorse back that can carry the load in their offense, which wants to run the ball and play defense. Think of them as the NFL version of the Kirk Ferentz-led Iowa Hawkeyes. The pick by the Steelers has earned strong remarks from CBS Sports in their analysis of the third-round picks. Kaleb Johnson to Pittsburgh has been stamped with a B+. 83. Steelers: Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa Grade: B+ Not an explosive, speed-based RB but lowers the boom with little to no effort and wins with plus vision and smoothness for stretch runs. The Steelers lost Najee Harris in free agency and love change-of-pace RB Jaylen Warren. Johnson has a high floor as a sizable feature-back type. - Chris Trapasso, CBS Sports The Steelers are still seeking answers as to who will play quarterback, as Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the two who saw time last year, have since departed. Whoever is under center should see relief from Kaleb Johnson toting the rock. Kaleb Johnson joins a running back room currently consisting of Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Aaron Shampklin. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL Draft: Which local high school grads are joining pro squads?
Apr. 28—One area high school grad was selected in the 2025 NFL Draft while a handful more will still get a chance to make a team this spring or summer. Connor Bazelak, a quarterback from Alter High School who played at Missouri, Indiana and Bowling Green in college, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Advertisement They have locked up Baker Mayfield as their long-term starter and entered the offseason with Kyle Trask as his backup. The Atlanta Falcons signed Malik Verdon, a safety from Hamilton High School who earned All-Big 12 honors at Iowa Stae, while the New York Giants signed Trotwood-Madison graduate Jaison Williams, an offensive lineman from Youngstown State. Tippecanoe High School graduate Ben Sauls will be staying in the same city where he became a standout kicker — Pittsburgh — after signing with the Steelers. While Pittsburgh might not need a new kicker with Chris Boswell entrenched there, reported the veteran does not kick much in the preseason, so Sauls could get a chance to showcase what he can do for other teams. Advertisement Two other players reportedly are set to have tryouts at rookie minicamps. Jestin Jacobs, a linebacker from Northmont who played at Iowa and Oregon, is headed to Miami to try out for the Dolphins while defensive lineman Shane Cokes, who graduated from Dartmouth then played two seasons at Colorado, will get a shot with the Broncos and the Seahawks. Kaleb Johnson of Hamilton High School went to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 83rd pick in the draft. He was the fifth running back taken, following Ashton Jeanty of Boise State, Omarion Hampton of North Carolina, Quinshon Judkins of Ohio State and TreVeyon Henderson of Ohio State. Advertisement At 6-foot, 225 pounds, Johnson ran for 2,779 yards and 30 touchdowns in three seasons at Iowa, where was named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year and a consensus All-American last fall. He was No. 44 overall in pre-draft rankings from The Athletic, No. 57 according to Pro Football Focus and ranked No. 64 by ESPN. Johnson ran for 1,002 yards in eight games as a senior for the Big Blue and made the All-GMC first team in 2021. He is the first player from Hamilton High School to be taken in the NFL Draft since Brandon Underwood, a defensive back who played at Ohio State and Cincinnati before the Green Bay Packers chose him in the sixth round in 2009. The last Big Blue alumnus to play in the league was offensive lineman Adam Pankey (West Virginia), who spent time with the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins from 2017-21.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL Draft: Pittsburgh Steelers snag Hamilton grad in 3rd round
Apr. 25—The Pittsburgh Steelers picked Hamilton High School graduate Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. He was the 83rd pick overall and the fifth running back taken, following Ashton Jeanty of Boise State, Omarion Hampton of North Carolina, Quinshon Judkins of Ohio State and TreVeyon Henderson of Ohio State. Advertisement At 6-foot, 225 pounds, Johnson ran for 2,779 yards and 30 touchdowns in three seasons at Iowa, where was named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year and a consensus All-American last fall. He was No. 44 overall in pre-draft rankings from The Athletic, No. 57 according to Pro Football Focus and ranked No. 64 by ESPN. Johnson ran for 1,002 yards in eight games as a senior for the Big Blue and made the All-GMC first team in 2021. He was among a group of about a dozen players from area high schools to enter the weekend with hopes of being drafted or at least signing with an NFL team by the end of the weekend. Advertisement Johnson is the first player from Hamilton High School to be taken in the NFL Draft since Brandon Underwood, a defensive back who played at Ohio State and Cincinnati before the Green Bay Packers chose him in the sixth round in 2009. The last Big Blue alumnus to play in the league was offensive lineman Adam Pankey (West Virginia), who spent time with the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins from 2017-21.
