IRVING, Texas (AP) _ Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson bears
no burden under the label of best in the Big 12, even if his
predecessors were Heisman Trophy winners, high NFL draft picks or
both.
He's not even afraid to call himself the best quarterback in the
nation going into the 2010 season. He figures if he does end up
being that good, he will accomplish the only thing he cares about _
winning.
``My biggest goal is just to leave a winning legacy,'' Johnson
said Monday at Big 12 media days. ``As far as being a guy that
lives in Texas and my dad playing for A&M, just leave a lasting
impression at Texas A&M. And I think the best way to do that is to
win games.''
The Big 12 total offense leader last year, Johnson put a
late-season scare in the Texas Longhorns on their way to the BCS
championship game. But the Aggies finished with a losing record for
the second year in a row after getting blown out by Georgia in the
Independence Bowl.
Johnson passed for 3,579 yards and was second among Big 12
quarterbacks with 506 rushing yards _ numbers solid enough to make
him the preseason offensive player of the year pick by Big 12
media. He's in a spotlight filled last year by Oklahoma's Sam
Bradford and Texas' Colt McCoy. He believes stats didn't set his
former opponents apart. Winning did.
``I think that I shouldn't deserve the award if I'm not winning
games,'' said Johnson, whose father, Larry Johnson, played receiver
and defensive back for the Aggies in the 1970s. ``Wins are 70 to 30
more important than play. If you can get a win by throwing two
passes per game, I think that's a huge deal.''
Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman did set one specific number for his
quarterback: a 70 percent completion rate. Johnson finished just
shy of 60 percent last year, but news of that number didn't phase
him.
``My goal is to complete enough passes to win a game,'' Johnson
said. ``I won't worry about the 70 percent, but I think it's along
the lines of you play well and if you look back and you've
completed 70 percent, then our goals should be accomplished.''
___
EYES ON TEXAS: Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said he ``wasn't real
happy'' about the phrase ``Beat Texas'' being used in a
school-produced video promoting the Oct. 16 home game against the
Longhorns as the annual ``red out'' game.
Tensions will be high that Saturday in Lincoln, Neb., because
the Cornhuskers lost to the Longhorns on a game-ending field goal
in the Big 12 championship game when officials added 1 second after
the clock expired.
The Texas reference has since been removed, and Pelini and the
players who joined him for media day spent most of their time
reminding everyone that Nebraska plays five games before Texas
comes to town.
``We have a lot of things to do before we even consider Texas or
worry about that football game,'' said Pelini, who said he was
unaware of the video when first asked about it because he was on
vacation.
The players said the dramatic finish against Texas made it easy
to come up with an offseason theme: Finish.
``We're not pinpointing Texas, but just to come up one second
short means that we didn't finish the game ourselves,'' said
defensive end Pierre Allen. ``Everything we did this summer,
whether it was running or lifting, everything we did was
finishing.''
___
GRIFFIN WATCH: Baylor coach Art Briles opted not to bring star
quarterback Robert Griffin III to Big 12 media days. That didn't
stop anyone from asking about the sophomore who is coming off a
major right knee injury that sidelined him most of last season.
Griffin's injury helped push Baylor back to the bottom of the
Big 12 when the Bears were thinking they might be headed to their
first bowl game since 1994.
Briles said Griffin was healthy and ``in great shape,'' but he
reserved judgment for the first time Griffin tests his knee in a
game.
``When you get something taken away from you, you respond two
different ways,'' Briles said. ``You pout, complain, sulk, cry, and
fall into a shell, or you fight, you grind, you have vision, you
have hope, and you work harder than you've ever worked in your
life. That's what Robert has done, and that's what we knew he would
do.''
Offensive lineman Danny Watkins, a Canadian who has been playing
football just four years, said Griffin looks ready.
``To look at him now, he's just a beast,'' said Watkins, who
declined a chance to turn pro after he was drafted by the Canadian
Football League during the offseason.
___
ON A ROLL AFTER BOWL: Don't tell Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads
the bowl season is filled with meaningless games. He says the
Cyclones' win over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl did more than give
Iowa State its first winning season since 2005.
``I contend that being 6-6 and improved like we were and people
being excited, had we lost that bowl game to Minnesota, it just _
we just sort of would have poofed into January,'' Rhoads said.
``Winning the bowl game, capping the season, I think we launched
ourself into January. I think that was evident in how the kids
worked the entire offseason.''
Rhoads said quarterback Austen Arnaud was the team's most
improved player after spring practice, and he called running back
Alexander Robinson the most underrated player in the Big 12.
Robinson had 1,195 yards last year and was second in the league at
99.6 yards per game.
``I wouldn't trade him for another back in this league,'' Rhoads
said. ``He runs it. He catches it. He blocks. He's intelligent.
He's a leader.''
___
TEXAS ENERGY: The University of Texas unveiled a renewable
energy partnership Monday that is designed to help fund athletics
through a retail electricity provider.
Texas Longhorns Energy will be a 100 percent renewable
electricity provider set up exclusively for Texas alums. Anytime a
customer signs up with the company, some of the money will go into
the UT athletic budget.
The plan backed by Houston-based provider Champion Energy
Services will be available in deregulated Texas markets.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)