A few feet away, Tommy Grady fielded several questions from a horde of reporters after the Utes lost to Oregon State 24-7 in Corvallis.

They represented, respectively, what Utah had hoped its offense was going to be in 2007 (with Asiata's running attack) and what it is now, at least until starting quarterback Brian Johnson's separated shoulder heals.

Expected to be just the cleanup guy this year, Grady became the Utes' offensive leader when Johnson slammed into the turf on a run and got up awkwardly, his right arm drooping.

Grady finished the game and was 9-for-24 for 59 yards.

"He was put in a difficult situation," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "It's a lot different when you are asked to step in and when you have several days to prepare."

Now, rather than jumping into a game against one of the defenses that could be the strongest in the Pac-10, Grady will have several days to prepare for Air Force, a team that had the third-worst defense in the Mountain West last year. The Falcons blew out South Carolina State 34-3 on Saturday, but gave up 354.7 yards and 25.2 points per game in 2006.

Grady, who looked a little shellshocked late Thursday, said he'll be ready for his first start since high school.

"I've been working hard for this," he said. "We'll go in and watch film, see where we can improve and be ready to work hard next week."

Grady started his college career at Oklahoma, playing in five games as a backup to Jason White. He announced he would transfer in August of 2005 when it became apparent he was the third quarterback on the depth chart behind Rhett Bomar and Paul Thompson.

He came to Utah because of connections to Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, who coached his brother, Jeff, at Fresno State.

However, he hasn't had any more luck at working his way up the depth chart at Utah than he did at Oklahoma, playing behind Brett Ratliff last year in seven games. Altogether he was 7-for-14 for 102 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.

Ludwig has said throughout fall practice he was "very comfortable" with either Johnson or Grady as the Utes' quarterback, an opinion echoed by Whittingham, who said he still plans to redshirt sophomore Chad Manis and allow Grady the comfort of knowing the Utes are his team until Johnson returns.

"He has to have confidence in himself," Whittingham said. "He's definitely a different quarterback than Brian. We were going to emphasize the option with Brian, so we'll have to change things to play to Grady's strengths."

His strength is a big gun of an arm. However, he was erratic Thursday with his accuracy and he'll have to turn himself into more of a team leader, something that came easily to Johnson.

"Brian is our team leader, there is no doubt about that," Whittingham said. "He was someone the guys really rallied around."

Now it's down to Grady, and up to him to guide the Utes.

"I have the confidence," Grady said. "I've been here three years and I have a lot of confidence as a player and in the team. We just have to get better."

lwodraska@sltrib.com

Aug. 30 at Oregon State L, 24-7

Last game: W, 24-7 vs. Utah

Record: 1-0

Next: at Cincinnati, Sept. 6

Sept. 8 vs. Air Force 4 p.m.

Last game: W, 34-3 vs. South Carolina St.

Record: 1-0

Next: at Utah, Sept. 8

Sept. 15 vs. UCLA 3 p.m.

Last game: W, 45-17 vs. Stanford

Record: 1-0

Next: vs. BYU, Sept. 8

Sept. 22 at UNLV 7 p.m.

Last game: W, 23-16 at Utah State

Record: 1-0

Next: vs. Wisconsin, Sept. 8

Sept. 29 vs. Utah State 1 p.m.

Last game: L, 23-16 vs. UNLV

Record: 0-1.

Next: at Wyoming, Sept. 8

Oct. 5 at Louisville 6 p.m.

Last game: W, 73-10 vs. Murray St.

Record: 1-0

Next: vs. Middle Tennessee St., Sept. 6

Oct. 13 vs. San Diego State 1 p.m.

Last game: N/A

Record: 0-0

Next: at Washington St., Sept. 8

Oct. 18 at TCU 6 p.m.

Last game: W, 27-0 vs. Baylor

Record: 1-0

Next: at Texas, Sept. 8

Oct. 27 at Colorado State 3:30 p.m.

Last game: L, 31-28 (OT), Colorado

Record: 0-1

Next: vs. Cal, Sept. 8

Nov. 10 vs. Wyoming 1:30 p.m.

Last game: W, 23-3 vs. Virginia

Record: 1-0

Next: vs. Utah State, Sept. 8

Nov. 17 vs. New Mexico 3:30 p.m.

Last game: at UTEP, late

Record: 0-0

Next: vs. New Mexico State

Nov. 24 at BYU noon

Last game: W, 20-7 vs. Arizona

Record: 1-0

Next: at UCLA, Sept. 8