Jim Harbaugh has had success with former Ute and Cougar quarterbacks

SALT LAKE CITY — Before Jim Harbaugh revived the career of Alex Smith, before he honed the talents of Andrew Luck, before he put Josh Johnson on the NFL radar, there was Todd Mortensen, the kid from BYU — aka Harbaugh's First Quarterback.

Remember Mortensen? Probably not.

He played quarterback at BYU on and off for four forgettable years. After seeing spotty action in a few games each season, he reluctantly bolted in 2004 to the University of San Diego, a Division I-AA school that had a new football coach — Harbaugh, a former Michigan and NFL quarterback who was making his debut as a head coach.

Under Harbaugh's guidance in their one and only season together, Mortensen transformed from a clipboard holder at BYU to a professional prospect and turned the Toreros into winners. Harbaugh has worked the same magic ever since then, with San Diego, Stanford and the San Francisco 49ers. This weekend Harbaugh's 49ers will meet the New York Giants in the NFC championship game.

"I'm not surprised at what he's done," says Mortensen. "Enthusiasm and sound game planning in Xs and Os is a good combination."

Harbaugh is on a hot streak. He concluded his three years at San Diego by winning 27 of his last 29 games. He concluded his four seasons at Stanford with a 12-1 season, transforming a losing program into a national title contender. In his first year with the 49ers, a team that was 6-10 last season and in complete disarray, he has won 14 of 17 games and is one win away from the Super Bowl.

Each step of the way, the hallmark of Harbaugh's teams has been the development of the quarterback. He transformed Smith from NFL bust into one of the league's steadiest quarterbacks, one who led two stunning touchdown drives in the last four minutes of Saturday's playoff win over the New Orleans Saints. Harbaugh helped Andrew Luck become college football's best quarterback and likely the first choice in this spring's NFL draft. He coached the unknown Johnson at San Diego into a fifth-round draft pick and a backup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Before that, he turned Mortensen, who languished at BYU, into an NFL free-agent signee.