Feature article on Colt

About how he came to Hawaii 3 years ago determined to get his life back together, Colt said:
"If football didn't work out, I was going to be all right. I was going to find my life in Hawai'i and just focus on being happy. When I got here, football just took off for me. It's been a great ride and a surreal feeling." (AP)


About how UH has to go undefeated for him to get respect, Colt said:
"Unless I win every football game, the credit is not going to be there. I learned that last year." (AP)

AP Note: "His staggering statistics included completing 73 percent of his passes for 5,549 yards and 58 touchdowns. YET, the only figure Brennan cares about is three — the number of losses. To put last year's numbers in perspective, Brennan threw and ran for more yards and touchdowns than Ohio State's Troy Smith and Michigan's Chad Henne combined, and in fewer attempts."


About how putting up big numbers last year didn't get him invited to the Heisman ceremony, Colt said:
"My numbers last year were the best ever in college football. It didn't get me invited to New York (for the Heisman ceremony). I didn't win the Davey O'Brien Award. The reason was because I lost football games." (AP)


About how Colt's accuracy makes the WRs job easier, Bess said:
"It takes pressure off us. All we have to do is focus on our routes and our reads because we know the ball is going to be there." (AP)


About how Colt showed a lot by returning to UH for his senior season, Bess said:
"It showed he cared about the team and it also showed money isn't everything. By him coming back, it made everybody happy and made all of us closer as one." (AP)


Trying to downplay the attention he's been getting, Colt said:
"Nobody's a big shot on this team. Any time my face starts getting in the paper too much, they do a pretty good job making fun of me, bringing me back and making me humble." (AP)

AP Note: "In order to accommodate reporters and autograph seekers, Brennan is usually the last one to leave the practice field. He doesn't acknowledge it, but Brennan is an island icon."


About his love for Hawaii, Colt said:
"What I saw in Hawai'i was not only a place I could play football, it was a place I could get away. I love football and came out here to play football, but it was life, first." (AP)

AP Note: "His football career was nearly derailed and his life was put in a tailspin at the University of Colorado in 2003, which he calls the "most devastating" time of his life. Former coach Gary Barnett kicked Brennan off the team immediately after a woman accused him of entering her dorm room and fondling her.

The allegations came at the height of a scandal in which player-hosts were accused of supplying drugs and sex to prospective Colorado recruits. It also followed the Kobe Bryant sex scandal in Eagle County.

Brennan pleaded not guilty and was acquitted of sexual assault, but convicted of burglary and trespassing, according to court records. Brennan said he passed a polygraph test, which wasn't admissible in court, and had two eyewitnesses that testified he was invited into the woman's room."


Admitting to poor judgement, but stating that he committed no crime, Colt said:
"I had a complete lapse in judgment. I was cocky. I was arrogant. I was a lot of things. (But) I definitely did not commit a crime." (AP)

AP Note: "What crushed Brennan was reading the local newspaper after spending his first night in jail. The headline wrongly stated that Brennan had been convicted of sex crimes, as do several articles that still are being circulated on the Internet."


About being false reports that he was convicted of sex crimes, Colt said:
"It was hell, especially when I read that stuff in the paper. I never experienced something so long and so agonizing and so painful." (AP)

"The media made me look like a monster. Till this day, I can't get the truth across. ... The scars haven't healed, but those scars are what keeps me smart and motivated." (AP)