Following an impressive career at North Dakota State, Kobe Johnson will play his final season of eligibility in the Mountain West as a Colorado State Ram. 

The 5-foot-9, 188-pound running back from Lawrenceville, Georgia visited CSU this spring and after taking some time to mull over his decision, Johnson announced on May 2 that he will in fact represent the Green & Gold in 2023. 

Going back to 2019, Johnson has been an extremely productive player at the FCS level and a major part of NDSU’s offensive attack. The versatile back has averaged 6.7 yards per carry over 381 rushing attempts. And he comes to CSU with 19 rushing touchdowns and 2,563 rushing yards already on his resume. 

In 2022, Johnson finished with a career-high 961 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. He was particularly impressive in NDSU’s 49-26 win over Montana, as he finished with 206 yards and a pair of scores on just 12 carries. Johnson had a big game in the FCS Semifinal as well, finishing with 136 yards and three touchdowns in a dramatic 35-32 win by the Bison. 

Watching him on film, it’s clear that Johnson is a tough tackle in the open field. He possesses strong vision in the backfield and is a really shifty runner. As soon as there’s enough space for him to take off though, Johnson can take it to the next gear and leave defenders in the dust. He demonstrated this in the FCS Playoffs, rushing for touchdowns of 31 and 47 yards, respectively, in the win over UIW. 

With Johnson now on board, the Rams will have an entire stable of new guys to work with in the backfield this August. While it’s unknown what the future holds for Avery Morrow, with multiple experienced backs coming to campus, as well as a pair of dynamic guys coming out of high school, you can feel much better about the depth of the position going forward.