Jason Johnson UA Quarterback

This season, it's up to Jason Johnson to lead Arizona through the desert and back into the promised land - a bowl game.

Picture it: With a Rose Bowl berth on the line, the Wildcats trailing by a touchdown, Arizona will hinge 102 (or so) years of football inadequacy squarely on the shoulders of its starting quarterback ÷ a guy who hardly fits the stereotype of a hard-living gunslinger determined to lay it all on the line. So right about now is when some serious pressure sets in.

But the starting quarterback isn't worried about pressure. Last year was chocked with enough of that to last a lifetime. Not only was it his first year as starter, but he had to learn a new offensive system with a new coaching staff. Not to mention the ESPN camera crews that followed him and rest of the team around for the entire season.

Compared to last season, a Rose-Bowl clinching drive is gravy. And thanks to that interception he threw last year in the game that cost the Wildcats a bowl bid, there's nothing this season can throw at the quarterback that can make him so much as flinch.

Welcome to the charmed life of Jason Johnson, UA's senior signal caller and all-around lucky guy. He's already got the degree (business management, 3.8 GPA), the girl (Veronique James, beautiful) a backyard to kill for (surrounded by open desert, Jacuzzi, waterfall) and a full season under his belt. Now all he needs to do is convince everyone in Tucson there's a good reason to come out to Arizona Stadium this fall.

There's little doubt this season's success for the Wildcats will hinge on Jason's ability to lead the offense. And he seems to be poised to have a breakout year. His numbers last season ÷ 2,347 yards, 19 TDs, 13 INTs and a 135.15 passer efficiency rating ÷ were respectable, but he says that this year's stats will be even better. If that's the case, it's likely that UA will have a postseason, which hasn't happened since 1998 when the Wildcats finished 12-1 after a 23-20 victory over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

But Jason might be even more valuable to the team for what he does off the field. There doesn't seem to be a single person on the team who doesn't like him or embrace him as a leader, and in a day and age when athletes' egos always seem to eclipse their talent, his disarming humility and positive attitude is a breath of fresh air.

"He's your All-American boy," says senior wideout Bobby Wade. "He's a god-fearing man, but at the same time he's a guy who knows how to have fun and have a good time. He's personable. He knows how to relate to everybody. I don't think there's a group he can't hang out with. He studies hard and he's obviously smart, as evidenced by his GPA."

It's difficult to tell at first if the "All-American" image Jason exudes is more than just a facade. After all, when an athlete lists his life's priorities as religion, family and football ÷ in that order ÷ one can't help but feel a little skeptical. But there's a legion of people out there, like Veronique, willing to testify that her boyfriend is as real as it gets.

"I've been dating him for four years. If he was a schmuck, I wouldn't have been with him for so long," she says.

So the only question left is "How?" How does an athlete grow up to be as gracious as he is talented? How has Jason not been sucked into the culture of third-person quotes and hyper-individualized attitudes? And how can we duplicate him? Apparently, all you need is a family complete with a coaching legend for a grandfather, a pair of patient, supporting parents willing to sacrifice their home furnishings and an equally-as-athletic brother.

And a pretty good cell phone package.

Photo courtesy of Jim Johnson A young Jason (left) poses with his brother Chad (right) and Frosty Westerling, his grandfather and head coach at Pacific Lutheran University. Jason and Chad were ballboys for PLU for most of their youth.

From the jump, it was clear to Jim and Holly Johnson of Puyallup, Wash., their middle child wanted to be an athlete.

"He's had a ball in his hand his whole life. He's always been throwing the ball in the air, off the walls of the house, outside shooting baskets. He loves any sport with a ball," says Jim.

Jason laughs about his in-house activities today, admitting that he drove his parents "crazy" due to the noise and minor cosmetic damage he wreaked on the house he grew up in.

"There were a couple of times when my mom broke down and told me to stop," he says. "But eventually, I just started doing it again."

Logically, someone needed to step in and harness this boy's energy. Thankfully, the Johnson's didn't need to look to far. Frosty Westerling, known to college football fans as coach of Division III Pacific Lutheran University and owner of the tenth-most wins in NCAA history, also happened to be Holly's father.

By the second grade, Jason was a ball boy for his grandfather's team along with his brother Chad, two years his senior. The pair spent much of their youth on the sidelines with their grandfather's team, soaking up both Westerling's love of the sport and his disciplined approach to it.

"I was always taught by my grandpa that winning is just a byproduct. It's giving it your best shot that matters," says Johnson.

It was here, in Westerling's locker room, that Johnson also began to understand why a long pass is called a "Hail Mary."

"With me, football and religion always made total sense in being together. I never saw a reason why they should be separate. Before every game, (my grandfather's) team would pray and talk about playing for god," says Johnson.

But Jason was also prevented from getting an early start on his football career, as Westerling held the philosophy that boys shouldn't play football until seventh grade. It wouldn't be until Jason's junior year, when his brother had graduated and vacated the starting quarterback job at Rogers High School, that anyone ÷ including Jason ÷ would think about college football.

That first year as a starter, he was the 3A passing leader with 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns, placing him among the elite prep quarterbacks in the West. The summer before his senior year, Jason was offered a scholarship to Arizona, a Division I team in a top conference. The decision was a no-brainer, even though there was considerable pressure from many in the community to follow in his brother's footsteps and play for PLU and Westerling.

"Jason always wanted to reach out and go as far as he could go," Jim says. "He respected his grandpa's team, but he always talked about going to a warm climate and going down his own path. Jason always seemed to know (Arizona) was where he wanted to go."

More importantly, Westerling didn't make his grandson feel guilty for choosing UA over PLU. In fact, Westerling agreed with Jason's decision.

"We didn't really expect Jason to come here. When Dick Tomey recruited him we talked about this. Arizona seemed to be a great fit, and the weather there was so terrific for his health and breathing. Arizona is such a great school and he had the chance to be at a select position in a great program. That was the place for him," Westerling says.

Once his senior year was done with, it was off to Tucson for Jason. His parents offered to pick up the tab for at least one of their son's expenses: They promised he'd never have to pay a cell phone bill while in college. Of course, it might have been cheaper for them to pay his rent, because Jason calls home quite a bit.

"The biggest challenge has been getting him a plan that works," Jim says.

"It's funny, (former UA quarterback Ortege Jenkins) and I had a saying: We called them Îyo-yo' balls, when you wish the football was on a yo-yo. Like, right when you let it go, you wish you could pull it right back on a string. That's kind of how I felt on that throw," Johnson says.

The throw came with less than two minutes to go against the Trojans, on the heels of a thrilling 18-point second-half comeback. The momentum had shifted in the game after USC looked like they were going to run away with it, and it seemed almost certain that the Wildcats would score on their final drive to pull ahead. But at midfield, Johnson made that throw, intended for senior wideout Malosi Leonard and USC cornerback Kris Richard returned the interception for the go-ahead touchdown. Game over.

After every game up to that point, Johnson was always positive, win or lose. But that wasn't the case this time. The emotionally drained Johnson was inconsolable. It was the first time the veneer had been cracked, and when he tried to speak to the media he broke down, blaming himself for the loss as tears streamed down his face.

"After the game, I couldn't really talk about it, because you put so much into it. In football, you put that all into 60 minutes, and for it to be so close and for it to fall through your fingers, it was disappointing," says Johnson.

But Johnson, predictably, found the silver lining on the dark cloud. He came back that next week and was emphatic that he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He promised that he wouldn't let his team down like that again. He finished the last three games of the season with a 2-1 record, including a victory in the always-important rivalry game against ASU. And he says he plans to continue his strong play into this season.

"I think that was the turning point. I'm not saying that was rock-bottom, but there was definitely something that changed in me after that," he says. I've learned it's the people that are persistent at this level who succeed. You have to keep fighting, keep leading. If something doesn't go right, the next day you have to go back and try to make the best of what's next."

The season opener against Northern Arizona is still days away, but his teammates are already noticing that Johnson's been different this year. Where he would have been quiet last year, he's being heard loud and clear now.

"If there's something that needs to be said, he'll be the one to say it," says senior place kicker Sean Keel. "He's gotten a lot more vocal this year. He's got a lot more confidence and everyone else has more confidence in him. He's taken on more of a leadership role."

And if this season becomes difficult for Jason, he knows his parents will always be a long-distance call away on the cell phone he'll never have to pay for. Well, that's not entirely true. He's not going to be able to call home on game days this season, because his parents will be in the stands for all of his games, just like they were last season.

"This only happens once in a lifetime," Jim says about his son's senior season. "We try to milk it for everything it's worth."

So it's settled. Jason will write the latest chapter in his charmed life's story this season. It's hard not to believe him when he says there isn't a team on this season's schedule the Wildcats can't beat, because he makes you want to believe that everything will turn up ÷ no pun intended ÷ roses. And if the season doesn't turn out exactly as Jason wants it to, there's one old guy back home who's pretty sure he'll find a way to make it better.

"He's the kind of guy that when the going gets tough, he gets going," says Frosty. "He represents what the game's all about."