Quotes from Colt

About his burglary and criminal trespass conviction, Colt said:
"I did what I did." (SI)


About living in Hawaii, Colt said:
"This is my sanctuary, my place to escape and find myself, and become a great quarterback in the meantime. I haven't had a bad experience since I got here. No one has ever judged me except on my character -- and that after they met me. The love is still coming." (SI)


About visiting a juvenile detention center near his Honolulu apartment, Colt said:
"I go to donate clothes, but I've also stood up and talked. I tell them I was convicted of a felony, but now I'm on top of the world. Just because you're in this place doesn't mean you'll be in and out of crime your whole life." (SI)


About his typical nonpractice day, Colt said:
"We throw our stuff in my Jeep Cherokee and go 30 minutes to the North Shore. It's like going to a different island. Sandy Beach is the summer hot spot, with its big flows. Everyone brings something: a surfboard, a boogie board, whatever -- everyone's in the water." (SI)


About surfer-football player tension, Colt said:
"In Hawaii it seems that if you're a football player, you're not really a surfer. If you're a surfer, you're not really a football player. At a beach you could find trouble. You have to know how not to piss people off." (SI)


Asked about his dreadlocks this summer, Colt said:
"Half my team is Polynesian with hair to their shoulders. The other half -- including our starting receivers -- have dreadlocks. So they helped me get it braided. I don't have a girlfriend, and the dreadlocks weren't helping me get one. Girls hate it." (SI)


Asked why he cut his hair, Colt said:
"My helmet was rubbing my head in front, and it started taking out my braids in that one area. I looked like a goof. I decided I didn't want the most disgusting haircut in college football all over Sports Illustrated." (SI)


About speaking Samoan on the field, Colt said:
"When I got to Hawaii, I was getting into it, and we have a lot of players who speak Samoan. I started showing off what I'd learned. Next thing you knew, we were implementing Samoan in audibles. I'm afraid to give much away, but we use one word that sounds like pizza. Everyone [on the other team] thinks I'm yelling, "Pizza, pizza ... pepperoni and cheese...." They don't know what to do." (SI)


About JJ's offense, Colt said:
"He spreads responsibility across the offense, which makes it fun. I have more confidence when I don't have to call every play, change every protection and change receivers' routes. From that standpoint, Coach is a genius and I love him." (SI)


About being called a system QB, Colt said:
"Damn right I am. And I love this system. But you see me make plays even when it breaks down. That separates me from guys in this system in the past." (SI)


About entering the 2007 draft and then changing his mind 2 days later, Colt said:
"Everything happened too fast. Before my five TDs in the Hawaii Bowl no one talked about me as a big-time pick. Then I sent my projection to the NFL, and it came in really high -- a mid-first-round pick. What the hell? Then I realized the NFL combine was soon, and I'd have to gain weight. I just wasn't ready to leave. My heart was still in Hawaii." (SI)


About Sample's drug testing claims, Colt said:
"The thing he really messed up on was to say some players aren't drug tested. I've been tested. I don't know of one person on the team who hasn't been drug tested by our university. The school tests every player before the season. And now there's an investigation? I know I've peed in a cup. We all have." (ESPN)


About how UH's academic support staff needs more help, Colt said:
"What occurs on our campus I'm sure are many of the same things that occur on every college campus. As far as our academic support staff goes, yes, they do the best they can to help us. What they are is understaffed. They need more help when you compare what they have against what some other schools have." (ESPN)


About how he won't read the book and now every player has to be ready to be interviewed by the compliance officer, Colt said:
"Perception is a huge thing. I just hope this is handled responsibly by the media and by the NCAA. We're going to really try to concentrate on football now." (ESPN)