The last time Brian Johnson suited up for a football game in Texas, the Utes carried an 18-game winning streak into Fort Worth.
His family and friends had made the four-hour drive from Johnson’s hometown of Baytown, Texas, to see the sophomore in the first big-game start of his career.
The Utes travel to Fort Worth again this week, and although the stands will be packed to the gills with Horned Frogs’ fans, Johnson will definitely have that same contingent of family and friends there to cheer him on.
The Chronicle caught up with Johnson earlier this week to talk about his recruiting process to come to the U and whether he is anxious to wipe that last Texas memory from everyone’s mind.
The Chronicle: So, this is as close to a homecoming game as it gets for you. How exciting is it for you to go home and get to play in front of all of your friends and family?
Johnson: It’ll be really exciting for me. Anytime you get a chance to play in front of your friends, family and relatives, it’s a good thing. I definitely want to put on a show for them and get us a win.
The Chronicle: Does this game mean more to you personally considering how it went the last time TCU and Utah met in Texas? I mean, they snapped your guys’ winning streak in front of all your friends and family.
Johnson: I don’t really think it means too much more to me personally. At this point in my career, all that really matters is getting wins, bottom line. That’s my entire focus. All that other stuff is nice, but at the end of the day, all that matters is whether you win or lose.
The Chronicle: Yeah, I heard you talking earlier about being concerned way too much with stats earlier in your career and not realizing what was really important.
Johnson: Yeah, because W’s mean more than any stat. Football is a production-oriented game and it’s all about winning. If you win, everything is good. But the stats don’t mean anything if you lose.
The Chronicle: OK, I’m a quarterback growing up in Texas. The University of Utah is probably the last place on Earth I would want to end up. Why would anyone choose to come here?
Johnson: (Laughing) Head coach (Urban) Meyer and Dan Mullen, who is the offensive coordinator at Florida now, were both so honest and upfront about everything in the recruiting process. I appreciated that a lot. They didn’t promise me the world. They were real with me and the atmosphere was great when I came up here on a visit.
The Chronicle: For a smaller program like Utah, do you think the honesty approach is the best way to woo big-time recruits into coming here?
Johnson: Definitely. The recruiting process is kind of a funny thing because you never know what kind of player a person is going to be at the collegiate level. Personally, I liked that those coaches were honest with me about everything.
The Chronicle: Had you watched any Utah football before being recruited to play here?
Johnson: No, I hadn’t. The only thing I knew or saw about Utah was Rick Majerus wearing that white sweater and yelling at people. That’s the only thing I knew about Utah.
The Chronicle: Wow, that’s not quite the image I would want for the school if I were in charge of Utah’s marketing.
Johnson: (Laughing) Not really.
The Chronicle: What other schools had expressed interest in you at that point?
Johnson: Illinois had recruited me quite a bit. Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and a couple of Division-II all expressed interest. None of the Texas schools really showed any interest though.
The Chronicle: Looking ahead to TCU, the Horned Frogs are now playing without their best defensive end in Tommy Blake. But they still have an effective pass rushing threat coming off the other side in Chase Ortiz. What do you think of their defense?
Johnson: I actually played against Chase Ortiz in high school. He and UCLA defensive end Bruce Davis were both on the same team and they were good. As far as TCU is concerned, they’re a really athletic group who flies around making plays and they do a great job of putting pressure on the quarterback. They’ve just got talent everywhere.
The Chronicle: As always, finish this thought for me-Utah will beat TCU if?
Johnson: If we execute. That’s the bottom line. If we go out there with passion and energy and go out there to make plays, we’ll win.
The Chronicle: Is that kind of the theme of the team this year, that you guys can beat anybody you want to as long as you show up and execute?
Johnson: That is the bottom line. In the games we lost, we came out flat. When we come out and play with passion and execute, we’re 4-0.
Jump:
Life of Brian: Heading home
No Texas schools expressed interest
Maegan Burr