Before leaving Las Vegas, Brian Johnson and Louie Sakoda said they had fun representing Utah at the Mountain West Conference's annual football meetings.

“It was definitely a good experience,” Sakoda said. “I'm glad Coach Whit was kind enough to invite me and let me represent the team.”

The Green Valley Ranch, he added, was “ridiculously amazing” with plenty of things to do. Sakoda and Johnson even had the chance to see “The Dark Knight” at a movie theatre inside the resort.

“I had a blast,” said Sakoda, who is believed to be the first specialist to represent a team in the 10 years the media event has been held.

Johnson, a rare two-time participant, also enjoyed the gathering.

“I did have fun. I'm a little tired, though. It's been a busy month of July for me. I've pretty much been traveling every week,” he said. “”I'm just ready to wind down and kind of kick it back into football mode, wind down and get ready for camp – take the last week and a half just to clear my thoughts and get everything ready to go.”

The Utes report for camp on Aug. 3 and begin practices the next day.
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HANGING WITH THE COUGS: Johnson acknowledged that he and Sakoda spent a little time the first night hanging out with Max Hall and Jan Jorgensen of BYU.

“They're pretty good guys,” Johnson said while downplaying the animosity that many fans assume exists between the programs. “People make more of it than what it really is, at times, I think.”
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STRANGE QUESTIONS: After spending the better part of two days answering various questions from the media, Sakoda and Johnson noted that there were a few odd inquiries along the way.

Sakoda was jokingly asked about his feelings on helium being used to pump up footballs up at sea level and Johnson was asked if he liked being in a two-quarterback system.