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No Comments [ Add Comment ]QB3: Trio of state's stars shine
By BRADY BINGHAMIronman and the Incredible Hulk have nothing on these guys.
It's been said that successful college quarterbacks must be James Bond calm, have Spock intelligence, carry Chuck Norris machismo and boast Clint Eastwood charisma.
In Utah, it's been the actions of three superheroes -- Cameron Higgins at Weber State, Max Hall at BYU and Brian Johnson at Utah -- that has led the Wildcats, Cougars and Utes, respectively, to top of the college football world.
All three have earned national recognition for their perfor-mances in 2008. Their combined record this season is an amazing 30-3.
But which quarterback stands the tallest, in and out of the pocket? Which signal caller is this season's MVP?
You decide.
Here's a quick background check of the super trio.
Cameron HigginsWeber State
The youngest of the three quarterbacks, the sophomore Higgins has Weber State (9-2, 7-0 Big Sky Conference) prepared for a deep run in the FCS playoffs. He is the only sophomore listed as a Payton Trophy (the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) candidate.
In 17 games as a starter, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder from Oahu, Hawaii, has thrown for 5,455 yards and 50 touchdowns. His 50 TD tosses ranks second to Jamie Martin in WSU history.
Heading into Saturday's game against Eastern Washington, Higgins needs just three TD passes to snap Martin's single-season mark of 35.
In 2008, Higgins leads the Big Sky in passing yards per game (316.3), total offense (309.7) and passing efficiency (his 178.6 mark ranks second in the FCS to Cal Poly's Jonathan Dalley's 193.7).
Max HallBYU
In only his junior season, Hall's numbers have earned Heisman Trophy praise. The 6-foot-1, 201-pounder from Mesa, Ariz., has already claimed a spot in the BYU record books alongside Cougar greats like Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco and Brandon Doman.
A three-time Mountain West Conference player of the week, Hall has thrown a touchdown pass in every game this season, except the Cougars' loss to TCU. For his career, Hall has thrown a TD pass in 22 of 24 games.
Hall's 34 touchdown passes this season broke a single-season MWC record set by Doman in 2001. He earned an ESPN helmet sticker for his seven-touchdown performance against UCLA.
Hall is averaging 307.0 yards passing per game in 2008, throwing for 3,070 yards and leading BYU to a 10-1 record.
Brian JohnsonUtah
A 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior from Bayton, Texas, Johnson has the most wins as a starting quarterback in University of Utah history. With 24 victories (and a 24-7 career record), Johnson passed Alex Smith (21-1) earlier this season.
This season, Johnson has his Utes at 11-0, ranked in the Top 10, and on the verge of their second BCS invitation since 2004.
One of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Utes' captain has thrown for 2,333 yards and 20 touchdowns. He rushed for another TD.
He engineered three game-winning, fourth-quarter drives in 2008 -- victories over Air Force, TCU and Oregon State. He earned an ESPN helmet sticker for his 305-yard passing performance in a victory over Michigan.
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