BYU football notebook: Johnson to return vs. Colo. St.

PROVO — When Scott Johnson and Gartrell Johnson crashed into each other on the field last season — on the day after Halloween — the result was scary.

During BYU's 45-42 victory over Colorado State in Fort Collins that day, the Cougars' 5-foot-11, 188-pound Scott Johnson, who was playing cornerback, was hit by two players, including Colorado State's 5-foot-10, 220-pound running back Gartrell Johnson, who is affectionately nicknamed "The Predator" by Ram fans.

On the play, Scott Johnson suffered a painful double groin tear. "That ended my season right there," he said.

As the Cougars prepare to host the CSU on Saturday, Scott Johnson said he hasn't experienced any nightmarish flashbacks of that injury a year ago.

"The Predator isn't there (with the Rams) anymore," he said with a laugh. "I haven't thought about that much."

Scott Johnson endured a lengthy rehab and, during the off-season switched from cornerback to free safety. Then he suffered two concussions in space of three weeks — one during fall camp, and one against Tulane. He has been cleared to play this week against the Rams after missing last week's 54-28 loss to Florida State.

BYU-CSU TIES: The Cougars have five players from Colorado on their roster — defensive lineman Brett Denney (Thornton), tight end Andrew George (Englewood), defensive back Blake Morgan (Greeley) and offensive linemen Nick and Terrance Alletto (Parker).

The Alletto brothers attended Ponderosa High, the same high school as CSU quarterback Grant Stucker. BYU's George and Ram wide receiver Alex Johnson graduated from Cherry Creek High.

BEWARE OF TRICK PLAYS: A year ago, CSU was highly successful running gadget plays against BYU's defense.

The Cougars are guarding against similar tricks this time around. Coach Bronco Mendenhall said trickery is something CSU resorts to with regularity and that the Rams are adept at executing those types of plays.

"In fact, one of the trick plays that worked against us last year has already worked in the first three games this year. So they have some good ones," Mendenhall said.

e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com