Utah Utes football: QB masters 2-minute drill

Utah quarterback Brian Johnson is perfecting the two-minute drill. The senior has put on quite a show in the Utes' two Thursday night games at Rice-Eccles Stadium this season.

Johnson's late-game heroics led Utah to a 31-28 win over Oregon State on Oct. 2 and a 13-10 victory against TCU a few days ago. The come-from-behind triumphs have kept the Utes undefeated and in pursuit of a Mountain West Conference title and a Bowl Championship Series berth.

"I know the players dread going through two-minute at the end of practice when we're dog tired," Johnson said after the Utes rallied past the Horned Frogs. "But it shows up and it's won a couple of ballgames for us this year. It's amazing."

Two minutes, no problem.

"We work it a ton. It's a very comfortable situation for us,"

said Johnson, who completed 7-of-9 passes while running the drill against TCU. "We came out and executed against a really salty defense, the best defense in the country. That's what we do. We came out, did a nice job and made some big plays."

The latest win added to Johnson's legacy. He's led the Utes to 23 victories as a starter, two more than former record-holder Alex Smith.

The bulk of Johnson's success came after he reclaimed the starting job after coming back from a shoulder injury last season. Since then, Utah has gone 18-1.

"This guy's a winner," offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said.

"This guy is highly motivated, talented, smart, and I can't say enough good things about him."

Ludwig, who is also Utah's quarterbacks coach, didn't know a lot about Johnson when he joined Whittingham's staff after the 2004 season.

It didn't take long for that to change, however.

"I was immediately impressed by his intelligence and how quickly he took to the new scheme we were installing," Ludwig said. "Then after the first spring of working with him, I was extremely impressed with his accuracy and his ability to manage the offense. That's only increased and improved each year."

And Utah has the record to prove it.

So, too, does Johnson.

Passing Smith for the most career victories as a starter is a noteworthy accomplishment and a personal one at that. Johnson backed up the eventual No. 1 NFL Draft pick in 2004, and the two quarterbacks are still friends.

"It's a big deal. It's a great tribute to Brian," Ludwig said.

"The guy's a winner. He's done a lot for the Utah Utes and we are very appreciative."

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com