How Iowa's offensive changes under Tim Lester unleashed Kaleb Johnson

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Three games into a season full of change, promise and hope, Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester has done more to shake up the Hawkeyes' system than anyone else in the last 15 years. And no one has benefited from the changes more than junior running back Kaleb Johnson.

Johnson has a long, muscular frame and has been able to blast through or run past defenses over the past two seasons, but not consistently. Now, after making minor adjustments to Iowa's zone system, Johnson is back on track to compete with the best in the country.

Johnson is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He leads the country with 479 rushing yards — 20 more than Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, who has played one fewer game than Johnson's three. Johnson's combination of explosive runs (seven of 25-plus yards) and touchdowns (six) rank first and fourth, respectively. The last Iowa runner with three consecutive games of at least 100 yards and two touchdowns was Tavian Banks in 1997.

Johnson's turbulent start has impressed his teammates and his next opponent, Minnesota.

“He's smooth,” Minnesota coach PJ Fleck told reporters this week. “A lot of times it looks like he's not moving very fast, but he outruns everybody. He runs really well behind his pads. He can play the speed game. He can play the power game. He's got great balance, great vision and he's played so much.”

Johnson's rise is a byproduct of Lester's hiring as offensive coordinator. Without changing its identity — in fact, Lester has strengthened it — the Hawkeyes' offense has seen a huge upswing three games into the season. After Iowa posted the FBS' worst average of 234.5 yards per game in 2023, which was the lowest in the Big Ten since 1984, the Hawkeyes now average 419 yards per game, which ranks 54th nationally. With 243 rushing yards per game, the Hawkeyes have more than doubled their 2023 average of 115.9 yards.

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How did this happen so quickly? Part of it is luck. Last year, Iowa's offensive line suffered several injuries, as did Johnson in the first month of the season. So far this year, there have been no such problems on that front. The veteran offensive line has made 165 career appearances, and the inexperience that plagued them for three years is no longer a factor.

But more than health and maturity, Iowa's game plan has sparked a reawakening. Under Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (2-1) adopted zone blocking from his days as offensive line coach from 1981 to 1989 and has emphasized that style even more since he took over as head coach in 1999. But defenses and rules have undermined the effectiveness of Ferentz's plan. Cut blocking has all but been eliminated from the game, and faster defenders have fought through openings between blockers before the back could claim the hole.

Enter Lester, who replaced Brian Ferentz as offensive coordinator last winter. Lester, a former quarterback and head coach at Western Michigan who served as an analyst with the Green Bay Packers last season, is a fan of the Shanahan offense, which includes the long, long runs Iowa likes to incorporate and the interior zones designed to create a gap in the defense. But in addition to the constant movement, Lester introduced a third type of zone run that not only fits Johnson's running style but also the skill of Iowa's offensive line.

“The middle zone is the happy medium for both of them,” said running backs coach Ladell Betts, who played the position for nine seasons at Iowa and in the NFL. “From the moment Coach Lester got here, that's been kind of a staple of his offense and a staple of the Shanahan system. So we've emphasized it from spring ball on, and it wasn't pretty at first. But we've repeated it over and over and over and over and over and the guys are getting a better understanding of the routes.”

Iowa's interior defenders have gotten used to it. Their targeting points have changed from the defender's jersey number on the play side in a wide zone to the screws on their helmets in a mid-zone. This helps them reach the second level and create an opening quicker.

“It kind of gives us the freedom to play a little faster if that makes sense,” said Iowa right guard Connor Colby, a four-year starter. “I have the ability to get to the linebacker up front quicker and kind of cut him off from the point of attack. As far as the running backs go, I feel like they're exploiting that gap pretty heavily and just going from there.”

Johnson has built a reputation as a threat on big plays throughout his career, but now his long runs are becoming more common. Over the course of his career, Johnson has completed 18 runs of 20-plus yards, including a 30-yard run last year against Illinois that clinched Iowa the Big Ten West championship. The middle zone allows him to go full throttle when he presses the hole. While the wide zone was effective at times, the slower pace didn't always suit Johnson's skill set.

“Some runs we slow down and slow down, and some we just run,” Johnson said. “You just have to remember that, pay attention to your blockers and just keep running hard and physical.”

The scheme is part of Iowa's offensive evolution. With a reputation as “Tight End U” with five current NFL starters, the position plays a role in any discussion of offensive changes. If there was any fear that Lester would devalue the position in favor of a wide-open offense, that theory has been disproven.

Under Brian Ferentz, Iowa played 12-man (one back, two tight ends, two receivers) on 33 percent of its plays last year and used multiple tight ends on 61 percent of its snaps. Lester dispelled any concerns about his use of tight ends early on by saying, “I see myself as a 12-man,” and has backed that up. So far, 66.7 percent of all plays have been 12-man, while 71 percent of snaps have used multiple tight ends.

Lester played briefly with Packers coach Matt LaFleur in college and shares the same philosophies with all the coaches in the Shanahan family tree. The plays are similar to those of the 49ers, Rams and Packers. All three feature a complicated passing attack but are built on a strong running attack. Lester highlighted that Kyle Shanahan uses 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk as a tight end to do the same thing with Iowa's fullback about 10 times per game.

While Iowa tries to achieve some consistency in the passing game, the running game is crucial for Lester.

“Once the running game gets going, everything changes because the defense has to change,” Lester said. “Once they change, your explosiveness changes. This whole offense is about we will let the ball run and then everything comes from that.”

In addition to the mid-range, Lester's incorporation of pre-snap motion has given the offense an advantage. Through three games, Iowa has run the ball 37 times with motion for 190 yards (5.1 yards per carry). Motion has become a natural part of Iowa's offense, comprising about 30 percent of running plays, and the Hawkeyes are averaging 5.9 yards per carry overall. About 23 percent of Iowa's pass attempts involve pre-snap motion. Quarterback Cade McNamara has completed 13 of 19 passes (68.4 percent) for 127 yards with motion.

Movement has rarely been an element in Iowa's offense under Brian Ferentz, although the Hawkeyes have had success when they have used it. Over the last three seasons, Iowa has totaled 124 running plays with movement over 580 yards (4.7 yards per carry), or about three running plays per game. However, Iowa has averaged just 3.2 yards per carry over that three-year block.

From 2020 to 2023, Iowa quarterbacks have completed 40 of 66 passes (60.6 percent) for 426 yards with pre-snap movement, compared to just 53.3 percent without movement. Last year, Iowa completed 62 percent with movement and 47.6 percent without movement.

In the spring, Lester had his offense use pre-snap motion on nearly every play to test this. In fall camp, he surprised some of the defensive players by not always using it. Now, Iowa uses motion on 26 percent of its snaps. On 23 percent of the other snaps, Iowa uses trades, where a player starts at one position, then switches to another and fully commits.

“Before the Snap Motion score, I think we were at 6 percent or something, last in the country,” Lester said. “We weren't moving much, so I knew we had to break that barrier.”

The constant movement has forced second-line defenders to hesitate and fill their gaps incorrectly. Iowa's offensive line has taken advantage of these shifts to reach their defenders and open gaps.

“We're taking defenders out of the box, which helps us a lot,” center Logan Jones said. “We're not running against sevens and stuff. Everything's just a little faster now. We're putting a lot of emphasis on running and speed and getting to those guys. Even if you mess up running the ball, those defenders will fix you up.”

What excites Ferentz, his team and the players is that they are all still getting used to the system. As with all plays in the Shanahan system, the wording is long and takes time to process. The chemistry between the line and the running backs can still get better, but it works best with this group of players.

“We're capable of so much, man,” said Johnson, who set Iowa's record for most freshman rushing yards in 2022 with 779 yards. “I'm excited to see what we can do in the future.”

Photo: Matthew Holst/Getty Images