Utah Utes football: Utah's man — Injury-free Johnson rarin' to go for Utes

Utah quarterback Brian Johnson has evolved into a hybrid. The fifth-year senior is determined to blend his performance in 2005 with the maturity level he showed last season.

Injuries have forced Johnson to change his game over the years. He's had to find different ways to help the Utes win.

The challenges, which have included knee and shoulder injuries, have kept Johnson from totally fulfilling the promise he showed as Alex Smith's understudy on Utah's Fiesta Bowl championship team.

Things started off well.

In his first season as the starter, Johnson produced some big numbers. He led the Mountain West Conference in total offense (ranking fourth in the nation with 337 yards per game) and pass efficiency.

The success, however, was interrupted by a season-ending knee injury in the 10th game of the 2005 campaign.

Johnson spent the next season as a redshirt while recovering from the surgery that followed.

In 2007, he reclaimed his role as the starter. And as luck would have it, Johnson quickly suffered another injury — a shoulder separation in the opening game at Oregon State.

It never really healed.

Though the injury usually requires 4-6 weeks of recovery time, Johnson came back in three and the shoulder got hit each game. Despite the pain, the junior wound up leading the Utes to victories in eight of the nine games he started and finished. Johnson capped things off by winning offensive MVP honors in the Poinsettia Bowl win over Navy.

"We've had challenges and we've dealt with them. It's just a matter of coming out, going to work everyday and trying to get better — realizing that you're not the only one who has challenges to deal with," Johnson said. "Things could have been a lot worse. You've got to play with the hand that was dealt and make the most of it."

Though Johnson's individual statistics took a drastic drop — his passing yardage fell from 2,892 yards in 2005 to 1,847 in 2007 and his rushing yardage went from 478 to 150 — Utah's team success rose.

With Johnson as the starting quarterback, the Utes were 8-2 last season and 5-5 in 2005.

Watching the 2006 season from the sidelines proved beneficial. Johnson insists he learned a lot that year. It altered his approach to the game. Johnson realized he didn't have to try and take over every game. He considered it a sign of maturity and leadership.

"Things don't always happen perfectly," Johnson said. "But you find a way to make do with what you have and make the most of each moment."

And that's exactly what Johnson is doing.