QB Josh Johnson Signs With 49ers, Reunites With College Coach Jim Harbaugh

QB Josh Johsnon will be reuniting with his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh, for the 2012 NFL season asJohnson has just signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

Johnson played for Harbaugh at the University of San Diego where he set the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record for passing efficiency. Johnson played his first four seasons in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will now reunite with Harbaugh in San Francisco.

The 49ers still have Alex Smith on the team so it isn’t clear what role Johnson will have on the time. The SF Gate reports that Johnson will have to compete with Colin Kaepernick for the backup QB role behind Smith.

Niners general manager Trent Baalke, said:

“Josh is a promising young player that has experience in our offensive system. He is a skilled athlete with good arm talent. Josh has shown promise in limited action, both as a backup and starter at the NFL level. We are pleased to add him to our team.”

Johnson has only made five starts during his career. He has completed 96 of 177 passes and has five touchdown passes. Under Harbaugh, Johnson set four USD passing records. Johnson threw for 9,699 passing yards, 113 touchdown passes, and completed 724 passes out of 1,065 attempts. At the time, Harbaugh claimed that Johnson was the best quarterback in college football.

“I’ve watched Troy Smith (the Heisman winner Johnson’s junior year) play. Our guy’s better.”

The former SD quarterback has talked often about his hope of rejoining Harbaugh at some point in his career. During the lockout, Johnson said:

“I’d get to come home, be with my family, play for a coach that changed my life and play for a team that I grew up loving.”

Are you happy for Josh Johnson?