Utah's Johnson vs. BYU's Hall Add Comment    May 12, 2010

Today is Max Hall, Brian Johnson comparison Day.  Why, well I was wondering this morning who the better QB was.  Looking at the basic stats I found and what I decided to research, I found that obviously Johnson was a better running QB, Hall was a better passing QB.  Hall has more yards, passing attempts, more touchdowns.  The thing is, Johnson, has a better percentage, less interceptions.  When I look at these things, I can easily say that of course, Johnson will have a better percentage, he threw less, but I also analyze the fact that he has fewer interceptions.  It tells me that maybe; just maybe, Johnson took care of the ball a bit more.  It could also say that Hall threw more, and therefore risked more.  I will go with a better ball protector for Johnson.  The hype was always around Hall and how great he was.  I think that was due to him having such great games, as he did against UCLA.  I did find that the great games were against non-ranked teams, but we should expect that.  What I want to see is when the games are harder, rival games, top ranked teams, having a QB take the game over.  In this case, Hall lacked, and in fact, Johnson did in many ways as well.  Both are great manager of the field, dont get me wrong, but I want to see that in a big game.  So, I look backed in my memory bank and recall one game that one of these QBs took over in.  The game was the Poinsettia Bowl, 2007, Utah against Alabama.  Johnson took over.  He owned it, he rocked it, he was a leader, superior athlete and the man of the day.

So more on why I compared the two athletes.  Johnson did not go pro; I was shocked, especially after the win over Alabama.  I was just stunned that no one would pick him up.  Max was undrafted as well.  Both had teams look at them.  So I was thinking, What is going to happen to Hall?  Is he going to make a team, or will he be the next QBs coach for BYU or Arizona?  I am not sure how to answer that.  Max has shown he has the numbers and he can throw, but he also shows ha lacks the ability to take over in a big game.  Something Johnson did, but still missed being a pro.

What next?   Well I am going to call and call Hall and Johnson and get their opinions.  I may get closer to Johnson as he is local, and probably a more open person.  He seems nice, Max just seems grumpy.  I will go after this and let you know what each thinks about Halls chances or where he might end up.  And if I can get Johnson to sit and chat with me, I will let you know.  That way you can let me know what questions, as the average Joe fan, you would like me to ask.

Max Hall, Brigham Young University Statistics

Year GP COM ATT INT PCT YDS TD LONG

PASSING

2006 Sat out, transfer student from Arizona (red shirt in Arizona)

2007 13 298 496 12 60.1 3848 26 66

2008 13 330 477 14 69.2 3957 35 76

2009 13 275 409 14 67.2 3560 33 80

TOTAL 39 903 1382 40 65.3 11265 94 80

RUSHING

Year GP Rush YDS AVG TD LONG

2006 Sat out, transfer student from Arizona (red shirt in Arizona)

2007 13 52 14 0.03 1 20

2008 13 65 115 1.8 4 31

2009 13 72 75 1 2 20

TOTAL 36 189 204 0.94 7 31

BYU SEASON & CAREER RECORDS Quarterback career wins: 32 (2007-09) LaVell Edwards Stadium passing touchdowns in a game: 7 vs. UCLA (2008) Passing touchdowns in a half: 6 vs. UCLA (2008) Passing touchdowns in a game: 7 vs. UCLA-tied (2008) MWC SEASON & CAREER RECORD Passing touchdowns in a game: 7 vs. UCLA (2008) Passing touchdowns in a season: 35 (2008) Total offensive yards as a junior: 4,072 (2008) Leading passer as a junior: 3,957 (2008) 300-yard passing games in a season: 8 (2009) Career total offensive yards: 11,562 (2007-09) Career passing yards: 11,365 (2007-09) Career passing touchdowns: 94 (2007-09) Career 300-yard passing games: 20 (2007-09) Career passing completions: 903 (2007-09)

Brian Johnson, University of Utah Statistics

PASSING

Year GP COM ATT INT PCT YDS TD LONG

2004 0 14 21 1 66.7 142 1 33

2005 10 210 330 7 63.6 2892 18 60

2006 10 181 272 10 66.5 1847 11 40

2007 13 268 394 9 68 2972 27 55

TOTAL 33 673 1017 27 66.1 7853 57 60

RUSHING

Year GP Rush YDS AVG TD LONG

2004 0 21 92 4.4 1 16

2005 10 152 478 3.1 8 26

2006 10 85 150 1.8 2 28

2007 13 108 128 1.2 1 56

TOTAL 33 366 848 2.3 12 56

UTAH SEASON & CAREER RECORDS Wins as the Starting QB: 26 (1st) Completions: 673 (1st) Pass Attempts: 1017 (2nd) Completion Pct: .661 (2nd) Yards per Completion: 11.7 (3rd) Passing Yards: 7,853 (2nd) Touchdown Passes: 57 (2nd) Combined Touchdowns: 69 (2nd) Passing Efficiency: 144.22 (4th) 300-yard Passing Games: 8 (3rd) 200-yard Passing Games: 21 (2nd) Total Offense Plays: 1,383 (1st) Total Offense Yards: 8,701 (2nd) Total Offense per Game: 197.75 (9th) Yards per Play: 6.3 (9th) Winningest QB in Utah history 26-7 Career Record 2009 Sugar Bowl MVP 2008 MWC Offensive Player of the Year 2008 Johnny Unitas Award Finalist 2008 Manning Award Finalist 2007 Poinsettia Bowl MVP 2007 Poinsette Bowl win against Alabama BCS Busters

 

 

 

 

 



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Article written by

Jeremy Vick

Jeremy Vick

J R

May 12, 2010 5:17pm

I'm going with Johnson for sure...I think most BYU fans would agree with me too. My main argument, stats and everything aside: Brian Johnson comes back the Utah to be the QB's coach with a VERY warm welcome. He was a very smart player on the field. When given the freedom in hurry up offense he was next to unstoppable, and I can't think of anyone I would rather be showing the younger guys how it's done. That being said, the sense I get from Y fans is that they put up with Hall cause they had to. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't even think they like him and he would not get the same welcome down south as Johnson did at the U. In fact, I would go out on a limb and say...The team down south would MUCH rather have Johnson take over that spot than Hall. Unlike Hall, Johnson showed up in big games!

Jeremy Vick

May 12, 2010 10:44pm

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