Poinsettia Bowl: U.'s Johnson finally goes bowling

Brian Johnson is ready to go bowling.

Aside from a few snaps late in Utah's historic 35-7 win over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, the junior quarterback hasn't seen any postseason action for the Utes.

A knee injury in 2005 kept Johnson sidelined for Utah's past two extra outings — a 38-10 win over Georgia Tech in the Emerald Bowl and last season's 25-13 triumph over Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl.

"It's been really tough. I can't put it into words how tough it's been on me. I always want to play. I always want to be out there helping my team in any way that I can," Johnson said. "It was really frustrating for me not to be able to play. But I'm excited to finally get my opportunity and finally get my chance."

Though slowed by a sore shoulder that required a cortisone shot over the weekend, Johnson will be Utah's starter in Thursday's Poinsettia Bowl game against Navy in San Diego.

"No butterflies. I'm just really excited to get out there," Johnson said. "I want to play the best game of my career and win this bowl game. That's what I want to do."

In preparing for the game, Johnson's mission is three-fold. He's working hard, trying to get healthy and vows to try and play "unbelievable" in the bowl game.

Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is eager to see Johnson make his first career bowl start.

"It's a big deal for him to get his team to a bowl game. That's the biggest deal. And it's a big deal to win the bowl game," Ludwig said. "He's done all the right things, and I'm anxious to watch him play against this opponent."

Johnson, who admittedly didn't have his best season after suffering a shoulder separation in the opener at Oregon State, has been able to rest the injury since last month's loss at BYU, where he dinged it again.

"The down time between the last game of the season and the bowl game has been a huge asset. We held him out for the first 10 days or so of preparation to try to rest his body up and get him back," Ludwig said. "And I think we're seeing the benefits of that in this phase of preparation because he's full-go right now."

He's extremely motivated as well — especially after not participating in Utah's most recent bowl games.

"The hardest part was not playing. I went on the trips, I was involved the last two bowl games, but I didn't play," Johnson explained. "So I'm excited to finally get the opportunity."

The Utes went 7-1 this season when Johnson started and finished games.

How Johnson will fare is one of several intriguing story lines for Utah this week.

Others include: