Monday, August 13, 2007

Say Aloha to Colt Brennan

By Rich Lyons

You know who Colt Brennan is ... but do you really know who Colt Brennan is?

True, after leading Hawaii to a bowl win against Arizona State last year, Brennan's name definitely surfaced on most college football fans' radar, but not many outside of the islands knows about Brennan's story in addition to his potential as a great young quarterback.

It all started back in Laguna Beach, and while it is not known if he ever ran into the castmates of the popular reality series, Colt attended Mater Dei High School, where he backed up another well-known southern Californian, Matt Leinart. Once taking the reigns, Brennan guided Mater Dei to a league championship. While in school, Brennan also was a superb basketball player, and was integral in helping the school win its league title as a senior.

Once Brennan graduated, he went on to Worcester Academy, located in western Massachusetts, where he started for one year. Brennan then committed to the University of Colorado. After his red-shirt season in 2003, Brennan was in the middle of a firestorm of controversy. First, an incident involving a young woman to which Brennan was found guilty of charges of burglary and trespassing.

Brennan decided to enroll at Saddleback Community College, where he led his team to a league championship, and in addition, was named the state's offensive player of the year in 2004. After all of the baggage he came in with, Brennan was able to shed all of it, and became a premiere quarterback during the offseason recruitment period. Despite getting an opportunity to start at Syracuse, Brennan opted to attend the University of Hawaii, where he would take over for Timmy Chang, who became the all-time leading passer while starting for the Warriors.

Brennan was a star in Hawaii from his first start, and managed to lead the nation in passing yards and touchdowns. Despite all of his heroics, the Warriors did not make a bowl appearance, a first for the team in four years. But the expectations surrounding Brennan and Hawaii were enormous entering the '06 season, and Brennan would do nothing to disappoint.

Critics believed that Brennan was the recipient of an easy schedule when he posted his numbers, but he was determined in his junior season to prove that he was, indeed, for real. Brennan passed for an NCAA record in touchdown passes and passer efficiency. The Warriors were dominant in the WAC, especially at home, where Hawaii seems to prosper every year. With a national spotlight shining on Brennan since his first snap of the '06 season, he has yet to disappoint.

After leading his team to a 10-3 mark during the regular season, Brennan and the Warriors took on the ASU Sun Devils in the Hawaii Bowl, a game played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. While the Devils stayed in the game for most of the game, Hawaii proved to be too tough for A-State's defense to handle. Brennan had another incredible game, where he threw for 559 yards and 5 scores in Hawaii's 41-24 victory.

After the game, it seemed as though Brennan would declare himself for the NFL draft. Riding high off of an incredible game and even more astounding career, Brennan was slotted to be chosen in the late first round, but after careful consideration, Brennan decided to return for another year at Hawaii. Although his decision was scrutinized by the national media, Brennan is already reaping the rewards for staying in school for his senior year.

Colt has been installed as a Heisman Trophy favorite after his sixth-place finish in the vote last year, and if Darren McFadden is unable to be the kind of back he was last year, there stands to reason that Brennan could become the first Heisman winner in the history of the University of Hawaii.

Colt Brennan could be playing in preseason games right now with an NFL team, making millions, and realizing a dream shared by every kid playing football. However, Brennan decided that, one, his draft stock could rise even higher than it is now, and two, he is in a place where he is already a legend, and the chance to win another bowl game, and some other postseason hardware, was too much to pass up.

Although he experienced a lot of bumps early in his college career, Brennan has now been slated as the best signal caller in the country, and a dedicated student of the game, as well as in school, Brennan has put himself in the ranks of Steve Young and David Carr as one of the WAC's all-time best QBs, and even further, one of the best to ever play collegiately.