OGDEN — Growing up in West Valley City, all Joe Johnson ever wanted to do was play soccer. But just before his senior year at Granger High School, the 5-foot-8, 185-pound athlete discovered he had another talent with his leg — kicking field goals.

More than five years later, the man they call Joe "the Toe" has used his talented foot to help the Weber State football team and to obtain an education. Just past the midpoint of his senior season, Johnson has a career field-goal percentage of 62, has made 102-of-107 extra points and has scored 237 points, quietly moving him into second place on the school's list of career scoring leaders. He is also third in career field goals with 39. Not bad for a soccer player who has only been playing football since 2000.

Johnson's decision to play football wasn't anything profound. He just saw an opportunity and decided to give it a try.

"I was a soccer player my whole life and going into my senior year of high school I decided I wanted to play football," Johnson said. "I made a 54-yarder (a Granger school record) in the homecoming game, sent out tapes, and was fortunate enough to get a scholarship."

When he arrived on campus in 2001, he almost decided not to pursue football. But when starting kicker Jason Zur became academically ineligible and David Vincent did not return, Johnson was asked back in time for 2002 spring practices. That fall, he was 6-of-10 on field goals and 32-of-33 in PAT tries. His special memory from that first season was playing at New Mexico in the first game of the season.

"It was fun to fly down and play in front of a big crowd. We outplayed them and should have won the game," said Johnson, who kicked his first career field goal in the contest. In fact, he connected on his first five that season.

Johnson had bigger expectations for himself in 2003 but instead struggled with what he refers to as his "slump." Over the first five games of that season, Johnson missed 7-of-10 field goals and knew he needed to try something new to find his rhythm.

The solution?

Kicking barefoot.

"It was a challenge to get out of that slump. I was kicking wrong and the balls weren't flying right," Johnson said. "So I changed it up and took the shoe off."

Suddenly, Joe "The Toe" was connecting again. He finished the 2003 season a perfect 6-for-6 in the last five games and looked forward to 2004.

"Going shoeless gives me an advantage because I can feel the ball better," Johnson said. "I can tell if I hit it right or not. It forces you to keep your toes out of the way, so the ball always goes end-over-end. But sometimes it hurts."