It's a task he believes he is fit enough to handle. The shoulder he injured in the first game of the season that hampered his effectiveness is finally strong again and his off-season workouts have trimmed almost 10 pounds off his frame to 200 pounds.
"Compared to where I finished the season last year, I'm not even close. Everything feels a ton better," he said. "I'm excited to be healthy and finally play to my full potential."
The Utes downplayed how much Johnson's shoulder was hurting during the second half of the season. However, it wasn't hard to tell Johnson wasn't at his best.
He rarely threw down field and when he did he was often inaccurate. When the Utes needed to run, freshman Corbin Louks often replaced Johnson. Despite being pinned in the pocket, Johnson led the Utes to eight wins in their last nine games and earned bowl offensive MVP honors. While he admitted the injury frustrated him, Johnson believes it has made him a better quarterback going into the 2008 season because it forced him to rely on his teammates more, something he didn't always do earlier in his career.
"It gives you a whole different perspective of football," he said. "Usually I was trying to find a way to win a football game and utilizing different weapons and different tools. It wasn't about me trying to take over every play and be Superman. My job was to really get the ball to the playmakers and let them do it. It was a different experience."
His teammates responded well enough for the Utes to finish 9-4 and Louks earned some valuable experience as a freshman. But even so, the offensive production wasn't what coach Kyle Whittingham wanted it to be.
The Utes ranked just 79th nationally in total offense (369.6) and 68th in scoring offense (26.2).
Getting more output is one of the Utes' biggest goals for 2008, Whittingham said, and he is placing the duty of crafting the needed scoring drives on Johnson. Louks will still have a set package of plays, but Whittingham made it clear there won't be a two-quarterback system.
"I don't want to make any grey area there," Whittingham said. "Some teams have a two-guy deal, but that isn't the case with us. To subject Brian to those hits didn't make sense so Corbin filled that void for us. He'll play some for us this year but we'll pick our spots. He is there and available to us, but Brian Johnson is the quarterback of the University of Utah."
Ideally, Whittingham would like Johnson to run the ball eight or 10 times a game. That amount should keep defenses honest and hopefully keep Johnson healthy to the level he was in 2005 when he led the conference in total offense.
He injured his knee against New Mexico in the 11th game of the season and subsequently missed the 2006 season recuperating.
The Utes went 8-5 in 2006 without him and had a successful season in 2007 when he wasn't 100 percent, but all want to see what Johnson can do if he stays injury-free.
lwodraska@sltrib.com
