SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — As a kid, Brian Johnson was so inquisitive he read the warning label inside his football helmet and nearly quit the game.
Nearly 20 years later that thirst for knowledge is serving him well instead as he embarks on his first season as Utah’s offensive coordinator.
Johnson is best known for engineering Utah’s 31-17 upset over heavily favored Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, calling plays in a no-huddle offense that helped Utah dart out to a 21-0 lead.
Now at 25, the winningest quarterback in Utah history is in charge in a different way.
Never mind that a few of Utah’s players were born the same year, or that the man he replaced — 66-year-old Norm Chow — is old enough to be his grandfather.
