Brian Johnson is a great young man and when he is healthy, he is one of the best QBs in the country. Hopefully he can stay healthy and have a huge Senior year.

Go Utes!

Unfortunately, he just hasn't been the same since the first injury. I'm not convinced he can throw more than 20 yards downfield. Hopefully, he can get his arm strength back to 100%.

Good luck to Brian and Ben. Let's hope they can stay healthy.

Except vs. BYU!

He'll never be nothing than alex smith's backup and an injury prone machine as his legacy. Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, sickest duo in the nation

cant doubt that

Are you dyslexic, "he'll never be nothing than alex smith's backup". Come on, no wonder you don't know what your talking about. Brian Johnson lost one game last year. He not the best quarterback in the nation or anything, but he is a very good college quarterback. He'll lead the Utes to double digit wins this year.

It doesn't sound like being a finalist for this award is that big of a deal. Ben Olsen is a finalist and word is he won't even be starting this year. Louisville's quarterback is a finalist and I don't think he has even started a game; he's been backing up Brian Brohm. I haven't even heard of a bunch of these players.

If you know this award it is not only based on athletic accomplishment it is vey heavily weighted toward ACCADEMIC and CITIZENSHIP, the are fine young me who know that there is more to life than college football. Best of luck to all.

You don't hear their names because they are the well rounded athletes...not necessarily the heisman contenders but the guys who are active community guys and who excel in the classroom.

Didn't see a Max Hall on that list!?!?!?

Good for BJ. When he's healthy, he is a very dynamic QB, not the best runner or the best passer, but better-than-average at both (with a healthy shoulder), which means he is a pretty good college QB. I think Utah's success will depend a lot on him this season. His first year starting he had good stats but was about .500. Last season the stats were not all that great but he got the wins. If he can do both this year, he could very well be a finalist for this award and have Utah in the top 15 heading in to the match up with the Cougs.

He also seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders. I hope he leaves it at home Thanksgiving weekend!

Go Cougars!

P.S. For those who didn't see it, towards the end of spring football, Todd McShay (respected ESPN College Football Analyst) had BYU and Utah playing in November for a BCS berth to the winner. Phil Steele seems to echo this sentiment with his rankings.

He wont last three games.

Johnson is one of the main reason the U is ranked higher than BYU-Provo by Phil S.

Thats because the award is for senior quarterbacks, Smart Guy.

I might be a Utah fan but I don't believe that Johnson is that great of a quarterback. I don't like seeing athletes get injured, but sometimes I enjoy those that are the replacements better than the starters. If you read the article...you will come to the conclusion I did...Johnson must have been great in the citizenship and academic achievement catagories!

Now yoot fans will have something to cheer about this season as BJ leads his team to a solid 3rd place finish in the MWC (2 spots behind BYU, as usual).

"2 spots behind BYU as usual"??? Byu is on a roll right now but give me a break. It was just a few years ago they had 3 consecutive losing seasons and finished .500 Bronco's first year. Lets keep the arogance to minumum please.

This award is only available to senior quarterbacks and yet there are 26 finalists named. Every senior quarterback on a team expected to break .500 seems to be listed as a finalist, if Max Hall or Andy Daulton of TCU were seniors, they would probably be listed as finalists, also. Being named as a finalist means nothing, only performance during the season will matter.
Go Cougs!

Max Hall is a junior.

I for one am not comfortable with Brian Johnson running the show. I feel the same when my one year old gets near grandma's Christmas tree. It could easily get broken. It feels a lot like Arceneaux. Fragile, handle with care. We have two backups that appear capable of handling the position. Hopefully Whit will let them play more than just a Third and short down.

what an accomplishment!!!! not only is bj in elite company on this watch list(sarcasim), but you utes can cherish his stout academic and good samaratin ways, (which must be a new thing since he obviously lost to byu last year and didn't do enough to merit miracles!). This year it won't matter, byu is vastly superior to the yewts and each year we get better. We are going to blow you out just like 96' when jenkins ran all over your sorry defense! Bronco and Rose own your 2 nutjobs, who btw are terrible nightmares for your PR department! I mean come on! how many times can a coach put his foot in the mouth?!?!? KWHIT takes it to a whole new level...then your have boylen and i won't even go there!

There is no "i" in sarcasm; the one in "samaritan" is between the "r" and the "t", not between the "t" and the "n". The apostrophe in 96 goes BEFORE the number (e.g. '96), not after. I'll grant the "r" in "your" as in "...then your have boylen..." may have been a typo. Where does the myth that cougar fans are literate come from?

A good author doesn't need to write "sarcasm" in parenthesis to get his/her point across. It should be illicited in it's prose.

Whittingham is certainly not the PR catastrophe Mendenhall is since Whit doesn't schedule down, then laude the fierce competitive nature of a 1-AA opponent. Before any cougar fans point to WSU, note that Mendenhall SOLICITED N. Iowa; Whittingham INHERITED Weber St. There are no flies on Boylen OR Rose.

hahahaha better pray for another injury plagued Utah season, or s/he's going to get a taste of our 1st string....something you haven't seen since the last time your souls were crushed.

If the TDS had lost 9 of the last 15 games against the Utes, does that mean the church had only been true 40% of the time over that period?

re:more dumb cougar fans
practice what you preach, yewt! when you use "it's" in that form , you are saying it is, when you were supposed to say its....

and before you point to Northern Iowa, remember that we had Nevada and they backed out. Look in the mirror and see that you scheduled Weber State and Utah State. Not necessarily schools that leave you shaking in your bootstraps!

As you pointed out, "it's" is a conjuctive form for "it is". However, it is ALSO used as a form of possession, as in "it's prose", wherein "it" is the document that possesses the prose.

When Nevada was scheduled, years before the game in Reno was played, it was a creampuff. Too bad for the TDS they beat you anyway, and are now a moderately competitive Non-BCS team. Nevertheless, Nevada was scheduled under Edwards. Crowton INHERITED that team. When Nevada bailed, rather than go after Florida, LSU, Hawai'i, or Fresno St....who all had openings....MENDENHALL SCHEDULED DOWN! Whittingham NEVER SCHEDULED WEBER ST. He dropped Washington St. as the season opener in order to SCHEDULE UP to play Michigan. Not N. Michigan, or Kalamazoo College, or Timpview H.S.

Utah schedules UP to EARN a BCS bid, while the TDS schedules DOWN to back into one. Both teams scheduled Utah St. Utah scheduled as a traditional rivalry, while the TDS rejected the Aggies as not competitive enough. The TDS, who was coocoo for cougar[cream]puffs, changed their tune once they saw another guaranteed win was critical to backing into the BCS. I hope you lose.

GO AGGIES!!!

Someone from Kentucky giving grammar lessons? Now that is funny!

Before you excuse Northern Iowa, realize this: There were over 20 D1 programs with openings that matched byU's at the time they signed the mighty Panthers, so don't try to sell everyone that byU got the best available team because the didn't.

And don't bang on Utah for scheduling Utah State, the state legislature makes them play the Aggies every year; byU does it by choice.

I'm impressed BJ is taking full advantage of college. He'll need his education to fall back on. He is a decent QB, but not pro material. Kind of like Alex Smith.

wow is johnson over-rated or what??? he gets hurt every year and i am sure its going to happen alot of times this season too. all i have to say is,
good luck johnson cause you are going to need it.