Question of the Week: Shonn Greene or Kaleb Johnson?

The comparisons are going to be coming the rest of the Iowa football season. Kaleb Johnson even brought up Shonn Greene recently in his post-game comments as the two dynamic running backs has struck up a friendship during this season.

That got us thinking about our question of the week.  There are still three regular season games left, but better season running the ball, Shonn Greene or Kaleb Johnson? Where do you put Johnson on the list of running backs in the Ferentz era?

TANNER LAFEVER: Let’s start with the second question first:

I think Johnson is either 1A or 1B in terms of Ferentz-era running backs – with all due respect to current RB coach Ladell Betts (whom I’m too young to really remember in his hey day at Iowa) as well as AIRBHG patron saint Sam Brownlee.

There have been plenty of other really good backs, but I feel like only two (Johnson and Shonn Greene) have truly elevated themselves into the ‘special’ category.

As for Part 1 of this question, I’m going to hedge and say my answer for ‘better season’ is Green…for now.

Greene’s calling card was – in part – his consistency, rushing for 100+ yards in all 12 regular season games + the Outback Bowl. He also had some standout performances/plays against Wisconsin/Purdue that are still engrained in my mind. And while it may not be a fair metric by which to grade any football player – particularly a running back – Greene also helped lead the way to some massive wins for the 2008 team down the stretch.

The win over previously undefeated Penn State obviously stands out, but after that Greene was also part of the 55-0 evisceration of Minnesota (on the road) and a dominant bowl victory over a solid South Carolina team.

Johnson has plenty of highlights of his own, but arguably won’t have the opportunity to aid in similarly signature wins as Greene did with the schedule remaining for the 2024 Hawkeyes, other than a possible bowl game.

Again, I don’t think that’s really a great way to compare running backs, but for now I’ll use it to separate the two.

That said, if Johnson continues to put up ridiculous numbers and pushes some of his statistics into near-unreachable categories (touchdowns, yards/carry, etc.) and this Iowa team is able to finish the year with 9-10 wins I’d be hard pressed not to (potentially) elevate him to #1.

Bottom line, they’re two great backs with two distinctly different styles of play – and Iowa fans are lucky to have gotten to watch them perform.

DENNIS SCHEIDT: This is a really tough question. It’s like trying to pick between a Filet Mignon and a Ribeye at a fine steak house. Yes, please!

After some thought sipping on my morning coffee here in the perfect autumn climate of Palm Springs, CA I’m gonna give my nod to Kaleb Johnson. They are both the kind of backs you want while carving through a Big Ten Schedule. But the reason I’m going with Kaleb over Shonn at this point is just how much more meaningful K2’s carries have been towards notching dubs on the schedule. I think Shonn had the benefit from a much better passing game, while Kaleb didn’t have much help in the first half of the season. It was K2 or bust. Now, he’s a threat for a home run every time he touches the ball, thanks to a more mobile QB to keep the defense guessing. 

KYLE HUESMANN: This is a very interesting question because Shonn Greene and Kaleb Johnson are different backs. Shonn Greene was a guy that got 25 carries a game and never got tired or beat up. You just kept feeding him the ball and he’d keep churning out yards. Kaleb Johnson isn’t quite the workhorse that Greene was, but he’s a home run threat everytime he touches it. There’s still three regular season games and a bowl game for Kaleb, so I could still be swayed, but I’ll take Shonn Greene for the better season. He actually got off to a ‘slow’ touchdown start that year, with just six over his first seven games, but had 13 over his final six games. But what always impressed me was the fact that he got 307 carries that year and never slowed down. Game 11: 211 vs Purdue, Game 12: 144 vs Wisconsin, Game 13: 121 vs South Carolina. Again, Kaleb Johnson has been incredible in his own ways and still could change my mind, but Shonn Greene was something else.

I would put Kaleb Johnson as an easy #2 behind Shonn Greene in the Kirk Ferentz era. He might even be number one on the list depending on what he does over his final four games. Kirk has had plenty of good backs that have put up big seasons. Guys like Albert Young, Tyler Goodson, Ladell Betts, Fred Russell and Akrum Wadley come to mind if you consider full careers. Marcus Coker also had a huge year in 2011 if you want to consider single-season success. That being said, Greene and Johnson are the top two and I don’t think it’s that close. 

BLAIR SANDERSON: Right now, I’m looking at a signed Shonn Greene print on my wall, so this is a tough one, but I’m a numbers guy and have to say Kaleb Johnson at the moment.  Johnson is averaging 7.5 yards per carry, which is one full yard more than any other running back in Iowa football history and 1.5 yards more than Shonn Greene, who averaged 6.0 yards per carry in 2008.  Kaleb Johnson has 19 rushing touchdowns and 20 total touchdowns through nine games. That’s 13.3 points per game without the extra points.  Shonn Greene scored 20 touchdowns in 13 games during the 2008 season.  That’s 9.2 points per game.

Due to way less carries and possibly sitting out the bowl game, Johnson might not quite get to Greene’s season total of 1,850 rushing yards. Right now, he’s on pace to finish around 1,700 in the regular season and like I mentioned, playing in the bowl game is probably still to be determined.  Yards per game is almost identical right now with Johnson at 142.1 and Greene at 142.3.  But efficiency wise, Johnson’s numbers far surpass the yards per carry and touchdowns per game. But I’m a big fan of both guys, so you can’t go wrong here. I feel like I’ve been mentioning this all week, but it’s worth repeating again, right now Iowa as a team is on pace to lead the Big Ten in rushing for the first time since 1997 when Hayden Fry was coaching.  If you look at conference games only, the Hawkeyes have a chance to lead the Big Ten in rushing in league play for the first time since 1960 when Forest Evashevski was coaching. We haven’t seen a running game this successful in a long time.

TOM KAKERT: This is a tough question, but one that I think it interesting. I love Shonn Greene. I remember a former defensive lineman from Greene’s era once telling me that tackling him in practice was like trying to tackle a brick wall.

It’s interesting to compare the two backs because in some ways they are similar and other ways they are different. To use a baseball comparison, Johnson is a home run hitter that also hits for a very good average. Greene had good power too, if we stick to the baseball comparisons, but more doubles power and a high average.

My view on this is that what Greene did was more consistent. Reaching over 100 yards in every game is something that Johnson will not be able to do. Now, to be fair, Johnson was really close to achieving that mark as well. But, I am going to go with Greene in this one.

As far as Johnson and where he sits on the list of backs in the Ferentz era, I always have a tougher time comparing guys that were one huge year vs. guys who produced over multiple seasons. I know Arkum Wadley isn’t exactly an Iowa fan favorite these days, but he posted back to back 1,000 yard seasons. Same for Fred Russell back in 2002 and 2003 and Coach Betts also back to back 1,000 yard seasons with offensive lines that weren’t great. I think I am going to put Johnson in the top four for now and then leave open a potential re-evaluation in a few weeks.