Block U, a Utah Utes community

Brian Johnson, the winningest quarterback in Utah football history and the 2008 Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year, has joined the Ute staff as an assistant coach, head coach Kyle Whittingham announced today. Johnson will oversee the quarterbacks and fills a vacancy left by J.D. Williams, who accepted a position with UNLV after one year as Utah's cornerbacks coach. "The addition of Brian Johnson to our coaching staff is a huge positive for our program," says Whittingham. "Brian was an outstanding player for us, has natural leadership ability and possesses a complete understanding of the game. Brian's intelligence, knowledge of the quarterback position and tireless work ethic will help make his transition into coaching a smooth one. Our players respect and admire Brian, and they will respond well to him in his new role."

It's always a gamble when choosing an FCS coach and a good portion of the time, it doesn't work out. The last time a Mountain West team hired a successful Montana coach, he failed (Joe Glenn & Montana) and we all remember Mick Dennehy at Utah State (also a successful coach at Montana). With that said, it is a hire with coaching experience and I think that is important. This is something lacking with Mike Sanford and it obviously came out he wasn't head coaching material. Now we'll see if Hauck is D1-A material.