Quotes about JJ and Colt

About what he's built at UH, JJ said:
"I wanted to make our program like the Miami Hurricanes of the Pacific. I wanted to create a tradition of winning. We've done a pretty good job of that." (Houston Chronicle)

HC Note: "The Warriors are 66-40 since Jones arrived in 1999 and have won 13 of their last 16. That's pretty good stuff for a program that had lost 18 in a row before Jones took over. Did I mention the offense? The Warriors are averaging 585 yards and 54 points a game. When they get on a roll, they're unstoppable. Quarterback Colt Brennan, who threw 58 touchdown passes last season, has 10 in two games and is completing 76 percent of his passes. He's a serious Heisman Trophy candidate."


About how he family and friends took him to dinner at his lowest point after the Colorado incident, Colt said:
"They just told me they were going to stand by me. Your family and your real friends are all you've got at a time like that." (HC)

HC Note: "Brennan has become the kind of role model other athletes talk about being. He's brutally honest about his mistakes and even more careful about avoiding a repeat. Oh, by the way, Jones promises Brennan will be the first quarterback taken in the 2008 NFL draft."

HC Note: "At 54, he brought his team to Houston this week for five days of practice and rest between games at Louisiana Tech and UNLV. As an assistant with the Oilers, he helped usher the run-and-shoot offense into the NFL. That offense changed football at every level with its emphasis on playing fast and relying on short, quick passes."

HC Note: "When the Chargers put a five-year contract worth more than $1 million per season on the table in 1998, Jones did something odd. He walked away. He accepted what appeared to be a dead-end job at the University of Hawaii. He still has trouble explaining why he did it."


About taking the job at UH instead of the SD Chargers' head coaching job, JJ said:
"Destiny? I don't know how to explain it. I'd told people I was going to coach there someday. It just felt right." (HC)


About his car accident, JJ said:
"I should be dead. I have that thought every day of my life." (HC)

HC Note: "Jones' daughter was initially informed her father had died. He did recover, but he needed six months and still has days when he "aches all over." He has had offers to leave, but he says he stays because he loves the people, the islands, the culture. And Brennan."


About how he first heard of Colt in 2004 when an assistant coach showed him a video of Colt, JJ said:
"He was the best guy I'd looked at in a long time. He had incredible accuracy. He reminded me of (Dan) Marino and Jeff George. He had that kind of arm. Then one of my coaches said, 'OK, here's the rest of the deal. He got in some trouble in Colorado.' " (HC)


About how he did his research on Colt, JJ said:
"I called his high school coach, people at Colorado, eighth-grade teachers, his weight coaches. They all said he was a great kid." (HC)


JJ met with Colt 1-on-1 and asked him:
"OK, tell me what happened that night." (HC)


Convinced Colt was worth the risk, JJ said:
"He kind of reminds me of Joe Montana in his demeanor. He just gets it. That's why he's going to make it. I just love the guy. He's so caring of his teammates, so committed to taking advantage of this second chance." (HC)


About what he learned from his Colorado incident, Colt said:
"I was drunk, cocky, arrogant. Call it what you want. I put myself in a bad position. I have no one else to blame. That's a great lesson." (HC)


About choosing UH over SJSU, COlt said:
"I didn't feel like going to a place an hour's plane ride from my family (in Southern California). I'd just humiliated myself and my family. I wanted to get away. What better place to get away to than Hawaii?" (HC)


About how he can serve as an example for kids, Colt said:
"Everyone likes to tell kids that if they work hard in life, they can get what they want. Everyone wants to present a fairy tale for kids. I walk in there and say, 'Look, it's not going to be easy. Sometimes, it's not going to be fair.' Everybody faces those times in their lives. Whether it's family members dying or getting into trouble or addiction, you're going to face adversity. It's whether you're willing to continue to press on, to continue to try." (HC)


About how the UNLV game will be special, with so much family driving to Vegas to watch him play, Colt said:
"It's going to be real special. The last time some of these people saw me, I was being taken off to jail." (HC)