Utah Utes football: The apprentice is now the leader for the team

Brian Johnson went to the University of Utah from Houston as a 17-year-old in 2004. He spent the summer before his freshman year sleeping on a couch in the dingy off-campus apartment of Alex Smith, then the Utes' starting quarterback.

Johnson received simple but specific instructions from Dan Mullen, the Utes' quarterbacks coach at the time: "Follow Alex, and do everything that he does."

Five years later, Johnson is still trying to follow Mullen's advice. Johnson has led No. 10 Utah to a 9-0 record, and if the Utes beat No. 11 Texas Christian tonight, they would be on the cusp of a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game.

Johnson said this year's team is similar to the 2004 Utes, who ran through the Mountain West and crushed Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl in what became a model for teams outside the six major conferences on how to crash through college football's glass BCS ceiling.

"It's a great opportunity for my career to come full circle," Johnson said.

Though his career has been pockmarked by injuries, Johnson's senior season has been hallmarked by his efficiency and his leadership. He has 14 touchdowns and has completed a career-best 66.7 percent of his passes.

Much has changed from 2004. Coach Urban Meyer and Mullen left for Florida and Smith exited to become the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL draft. But some things are the same. Kyle Whittingham, the defensive coordinator of the 2004 team, is the head coach, some of the strategies are similar, and the Utes are led by a poised and intellectual quarterback.

"He's our team leader and is having a big year for us, much like Alex Smith was our team leader in 2004," Whittingham said.

Johnson's recruiting has similarly humble roots to Smith, who was so lightly regarded as a football prospect that his mother begged him to attend an Ivy League university.

When Mullen, now Florida's offensive coordinator, went to Houston to recruit Johnson at Robert E. Lee High, he came back and told Meyer he found their future quarterback.

"Great," Meyer said. "Show me the film."

There was one problem. Johnson did not have film. In the previous three seasons, he had been the seldom-used backup to Drew Tate, who went on to a successful career at Iowa.

But Mullen liked enough of what he saw of Johnson in a spring practice that he promised to come back in September to see a game. Mullen watched Johnson coolly orchestrate the offense, make good decisions and efficient throws. A scholarship offer soon followed.

"He wasn't that highly recruited," Meyer said. "Dan Mullen did a good job finding him. He's not that big or that fast. He's just a heady player that's a winner."