The winningest quarterback in the history of the University of Utah will join and complete the Mississippi State University football coaching staff as Brian Johnson comes to Starkville to be the Bulldog quarterbacks coach, head coach Dan Mullen announced Monday.
Johnson will replace Les Koenning, who left MSU to be the wide receivers coach at the University of Texas.
Mullen, who formerly coached at Utah and signed Johnson to a letter of intent when he was just 16 years old, said he is excited about the hire.
“I’ve known Brian since I recruited him at Utah, and he is an excellent fit to our staff with his experience and knowledge of the quarterback position,” Mullen said.
The 27-year-old has been an assistant coach at Utah the past four seasons. In addition to Johnson’s hire, MSU finalized its coaching positions by naming offensive line coach John Hevesy and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales as co-offensive coordinators. In addition, running backs coach Greg Knox was named the special teams coach. Previously, different phases of special teams were split among multiple coaches.
Mullen said the upcoming season promises to be exciting for the Bulldogs and their fans.
“Along with Brian’s addition, Billy and John will continue to develop our offense, which was the most explosive in school history last season,” he said. “Greg is well respected and has over 20 years of coaching experience that will enhance our special teams production. We are thrilled about the staff we have in place.”
Johnson, who became the youngest NCAA FBS offensive coordinator in 2011, tweeted Monday from his username @BDJohnson3, about his new job.
“Thank you for all of the kind words. Utah will always have a special place in my heart. Looking forward to a new opportunity #HailState.”