Iowa running backs coach Ladell Betts has been named to the same position with the NFL’s New York Giants, The Athletic reported on Monday afternoon.

Betts spent the past four seasons at his alma mater, helping the Hawkeyes to 36 victories during his tenure while coaching one of the nation’s top running backs in Kaleb Johnson in 2024. Johnson collected 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns during the campaign, breaking Shonn Greene’s previous school record of 20 touchdowns.

Johnson credits much of his development to Betts, crediting the coach for “being on me consistently about the little things.”

Betts had a standout career at Iowa under head coaches Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz from 1997-2001, finishing his career in second place on the Hawkeyes’ all-time rushing list with 3,686 yards during his tenure. After retiring from football in 2010, Betts entered the coaching ranks and spent eight seasons at the high school level before returning to Iowa as running backs coach in 2021 under his former coach.

“Ladell is not a big talker, but he’s been a big doer throughout his whole career,” Ferentz previously told 247 Sports about Betts. “I don’t think he was a big talker when he was here in school, but he was one of the toughest guys I’ve ever seen. I still tease him about to survive the ’99 season, I think he had over four a carry. I don’t know how he did it. We couldn’t block anybody. So I was teasing him about that. He was like a crash dummy running up in there.”

Now, Betts takes his talents to a Giants squad that ranked as one of the NFL’s worst units, tallying only 104.9 yards per contest en route to a dismal 3-14 overall season mark. The move will also be a bit of a homecoming for Betts, as he spent nearly the entirety of his NFL career in the NFC East with the Washington Redskins/Commanders from 2002-2009.