2022 RB Kaleb Johnson commits to Cal Football
Midwestern recruit comes cross-country and commits to Cal
Kaleb Johnson, a 3* running back from Hamilton, Ohio, announced today on social media that he will be committing to the California Golden Bears.
Our one and only SGBear with the analysis:
Kaleb Johnson is a bigger back at 6’1” 215 lbs from Hamilton, a northern suburb of Cincinnati, OH. He self-declares a 4.4 40-yard dash on his Hudl page.
His junior highlight tape shows very good speed despite his size. Is it the equivalent of a laser-timed 4.4 speed? Mehhhhhh… probably not, but it’s hard to tell. Let’s just say he is fast enough for a guy who is already has a college-ready build and runs with obvious power.He is a patient back, who has good vision to find holes and has very good contact balance to withstand lesser hits. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and can pass block. That is, he appears to be a very good every-down running back in a pro-style offense who can do a little bit of everything. He reportedly rushed for 878 yards and 9 TDs as a sophomore and 789 yards in his follow-up junior year. Furthermore, he garnered attention at an Under Armor camp in Ohio as a superb athlete and decent pass catcher.
By the time he gets to Berkeley, Kaleb with be the only underclassman and sets himself up nicely to be the starter perhaps around 2024, and can learn from three very good every-down running backs (Moore, Street, Brooks) and the change of pace back (Stredick). He said that he values academics first and recognizes that there is life after football – hence why Cal seems like such a good fit.
Johnson also visited Iowa State on an official June 4th and planned to visit Iowa on the 25th. He also took unofficial visits to Michigan and Ohio State, working out for the coaches there. As I covered, Johnson visited Cal and possibly told the staff about his decision within the same day.
Johnson is a consensus 3*, rated as an 86 on 247Sports and a 5.7 on Rivals. He becomes the first commit to join RB coach Aristotle Thompson’s room. He stands at 6’1 and weighs 215 lbs.
Welcome to Berkeley, Kaleb. GO BEARS!
| 3 | 7 |
I've been looking at recruits for quite some time. We're not Alabama or Clemson, so we're not getting the 5-star can't-miss prospects. And we're not even the second tier, which would get your bunch of four-star studs like Oregon, USC, and Washington get. We're the third tier - which means the vast majority of our recruits are going to be three star guys.
There is a very wide range of 3 star - there are guys who are just about or as good as the four star guys but just don't get the exposure of someone who goes to a top tier high school program. At the bottom of the range are 3 stars that are good enough to be recruited by P5 program, but frankly aren't likely to see any playing time.
The guys that are in the 3-star pool are not can't-lose, college-ready guys. They still need to develop a lot. They are either very raw, perhaps not yet done physically growing, still awkward in their post-pubescent bodies, need years of a real strength/conditioning program, need hundreds of hours studying video to speed up their game. In short, they're lottery tickets.
I'm looking for growth of that person's development over time. I'm looking for personal characteristics (eg, effort when a play is well away from them). I'm looking for technique. I'm looking for demonstration of raw physical ability. But it's still a guessing game how these 17-18 year olds will be when they are 20 years old. It's a guessing game honed over years and years and years of watching tape.
But I do have to say that Cal over the last two years has gotten 3-star guys that I am quietly confident are the overlooked guys who are as good as 4 star guys. While we have some personnel holes to fill, we have some absolute studs in the crew and I am more confident that I have been in a long time about the immediate future.
I gave a late-night look at KJ and he reminds me of Tre Watson the RB. Not the biggest or fastest but knows how to accelerate and has soft hands. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him split out into the slot in empty looks etc. Very much a modern 3 down back who doesn't excell just in putting dudes into the ground with a stiff arm or a juke but can catch and run.