SAN DIEGO — The day before Thursday’s Poinsettia Bowl, Kyle Whittingham joked about sneaking former Ute and current San Diego Charger defensive back Eric Weddle onto the field. It appears that having Weddle on the sidelines was enough.
Utah quarterback Brian Johnson credits his former teammate and good friend for getting him in the right mindset for the second half of Utah’s 35-32 come-from-behind victory over the Navy Midshipmen.
“Things were not working out for us in the first half, and Eric Weddle came up to me and said, ‘Don’t press man,'” Johnson said.
It was clear that Utah was content with running the football to limit the time Navy’s potent offense could be on the field. The result was that Johnson only attempted five first quarter passes — and just seven for the entire first half.
Early on, Johnson never looked comfortable throwing the ball. His first attempt was intercepted with the Utes threatening to get on the board early at the Navy 37-yard line. Utah’s run-heavy game plan never allowed Johnson to get in rhythm after that.
“I think it just took us a little bit to knock the rust off,” Johnson said. “We hadn’t played in almost a month. We only had four possessions in the first half and we kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”
Hence, the advice Weddle gave Johnson at halftime.
“I just told him he’s pressing a little bit too much,” the former All-American safety said after the game. “Just relax and go out there and play ball. They’re going to let you throw the ball. They’re going to let you put it in your hands. I just told him that this team is yours and they look to you for leadership and guidance and you need to be upbeat and tell them that you are going to win this game for them — and that’s what he did.”
Utah’s first two second half possessions stalled as they continued their streak of not calling consecutive pass plays. On Utah’s third second-half possession, however, Johnson got his first opportunity to get into a rhythm.
He completed passes on Utah’s first three plays of the drive and continued exploiting Navy’s soft zone coverage after that. The departure from the run game spurred the Utes to the first of three straight touchdown drives.
Johnson threw the ball on 10 of Utah’s 17 plays during its 21-point second half spurt. The junior completed nine of those passes for 131 yards. Johnson also ran the ball two times, including a 19-yard tap dance into the endzone on the third series to put Utah up 28-17.
The turnaround led to Johnson eventually being named the Poinsettia Bowl Offensive MVP.
During the ceremony, a noticeably bulkier Weddle watched his friend accept the award. Weddle and Johnson developed a very close friendship from their two years as teammates and Weddle has kept in contact with Johnson throughout the rollercoaster season.
“I’ve always been there for the guys, and me and Brian have become close,” Weddle said. “If he needed any advice, I’m always there. We’d talk after every game and I’d let him know what I think is the outside perspective. He grew up a lot this year. He wasn’t healthy 90 percent of the year. He’s a football player and he’s only going to get better. You got to watch out for him next year.”
After Johnson got done with the postgame press conference, he embraced his buddy, or as Weddle put it, “his brother.” Johnson thanked Weddle for being there and gave him a kiss on the head.
Weddle won’t be heading back to Salt Lake with his team after a bowl win, like in years past, but said that spending this week with all of his brothers on the team was “the best week I’ve had in a long time.”
While Weddle’s new team prepares for the playoffs, the former Ute captain and wife Chanel are expecting a baby any day now.