Cal Commit RB Kaleb Johnson Flips to Iowa

Ohio running back is third player to decommit from Golden Bears' class of 2022

A third player in the class of 2022 who had committed to Cal earlier this year has decommitted from the Bears and recently committed to Iowa.

Kaleb Johnson, a three-star running back from Hamilton, Ohio, had verbally committed to Cal back in June. But he decided to take an official visit to Iowa on Oct. 9. It was good week for Iowa to host a recruit because the Hawkeyes, who were ranked No. 3 at the time, defeated fourth-ranked Penn State in a 23-20 thriller in Iowa City, and the fans rushed unto the field in celebration.

Three days later, Johnson announced via twitter that he has committed to Iowa.

Last month, the two highest-rated players who had committed to Cal for 2022 decomitted from the Bears. Four-star Nevada running back Jaydn Ott announced in mid-September he had decommitted from Cal, and less than a week later, quarterback Justyn Martin, who is ranked as the nation’s 10th-best quarterback in the class by Sports Illustrated, decommitted from Cal after taking a visit to Mississippi.

Johnson makes it three.

Ott has not made a new commitment, although Oregon is reported to be the favorite.

Martin is scheduled to announce a new commitment on Oct. 28, and he has narrowed his choices to Michigan, Mississippi and UCLA, with UCLA being the favorite.

Johnson never announced that he had decommitted from Cal, but when he scheduled an official visit to Iowa it became clear he was looking elsewhere.

The 247Sports website gave Johnson the fourth-highest rating of the 12 players who were still committed to Cal at the time, while Rivals gave Johnson a rating of 5.7, which matched the highest rating of any of Cal’s remaining committed players for the class of 2022 after the decommitment of Martin and Ott.

He initially chose Cal over offers from Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, among others. He is not ranked nationally by rivals, although it does rank him as the 31st-best running back prospect in the class. He is ranked as the No. 524 overall prospect in the class by 247Sports Composite, which rates him as the 40th-best running backs prospect.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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