Houston Lands Brian Johnson As Offensive Coordinator

The Texas football realm has been divided into two sides: In one, collegiate programs in the Lone Star state suffered disappointments and only saw two teams post a winning record. As of this writing, Texas programs are 1-3 in Bowl games, and odds aren’t necessarily favoring any of the remaining teams this post season.

On the other side of the Tejas coin, professional teams are faring well; both Houston and Dallas are destined for the playoffs. The biggest NFL story is Dak Prescott and his ascent as possibly the greatest rookie quarterback the league has ever seen.

The college coaching landscape in the state was expected to change considerably over the offseason. There’s no surprise that a team would want to catch the Prescott lightning in a bottle twice, and first year Houston coach Major Applewhite is hoping to capture some of the Cowboys magic for the new-look Cougars next season. Former Mississippi State University coach Brad Johnson has been hired as Houston’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. At MSU, Johnson mentored a young Prescott, guiding the Dallas starter to shatter numerous school records, tossing 70 touchdowns for 9,376 passing yards and running for 41 scores.

#MissSt QB coach Brian Johnson, a Texas native, hired as OC at #Houston for Major Applewhite, source tells @FOXSports. 1st reported by SI.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 27, 2016

Despite winning an illustrious collegiate career that included Sugar Bowl MVP honors at Utah and an appearance on the cover of NCAA Football 10, Johnson’s blood is entrenched in the Texas soil; he’s a Baytown native and his father was a student athlete at UTEP. As a senior at Lee high school, Johnson lead his team as shot-caller with 2,900 yards for 33 touchdowns, completing 71.6% of his passes, and rushing for 540 yards with 12 scores on the ground.

The Cougars new OC inherits a spread offense that scored 35.8 ppg (26th in the league); Houston finished their postseason losing to San Diego State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

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