Quotes from the Star-Bulletin on 12/30

Impressed with how Colt handles all of the attention and demands placed upon him, Dan Morrison said:
"He's an amazing guy. All the success we've had this season, starts with that man down there. We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Even after the 45-minute session was done, a few local print media and broadcasters followed him out to the curb in front of the Marriott as he tried to make his getaway in a media van. Several players were already safely inside as Brennan tried to open the locked door. He started jumping up and down, yelling, "Let me in! Let me in!" But his fellow teammates wouldn't help him as he sprinted to the empty van in front of them. It did little good as one local print reporter ran after him like a defensive end in search of a sack."


About how he has made the best of his second chance, Colt said:
"I'm a convicted felon. But life's about second chances and making the best of them," the Heisman Trophy finalist said. "That's what this team is. It's real. Just like my story, this football team is real. We've come back from 21 down. I think the nation is going to love to watch and experience this football team." (HSB)

About how they are the underdogs and they are a reflection on how UH has to recruit, Colt said:
"We're the underdog, we're that Cinderella story. The way Hawaii recruits is it looks to those kind of kids. Adam Leonard (knee injury in high school), Davone Bess, Ryan Grice-Mullins. Imagine trying to get a scholarship when you're 1-22 in high school. And he did, and look at the career he's had." (HSB)

About how their offense is designed to beat any defense, Colt said:
"We kill zone or man -- it doesn't really matter what anyone tries to do. If you sit back in zone, we just throw it underneath and try to make them miss. If they go man, we've got the kind of vertical game that will make a defense pay for it with big plays all over the field." (HSB)

About people who wonder why they are in a BCS game, Bess said:
"A lot of people are asking, 'Why are we even here?' We can play at this level." (HSB)

About how their players have to be able to think quickly, RGM said:
"You can't be a dummy in our offense. The most important thing is that all or our routes are reads." (HSB)

About how most college football fans don't know much about them, Colt said:
"I don't think anyone has sat down and really watched us." (HSB)

About how the difference between the SEC and WAC doesn't matter when the game begins, Bess said:
"This is the first year Hawaii's on the map (in college football). None of that matters -- when the lights come on, that's when you find out." (HSB)

About how he loves to play in big games, Jason Rivers said:
"These are the kind of games I live for. We are aware of the magnitude of the game, but we have so much fun. There's so much love coming from the state, we don't feel any pressure." (HSB)

Asked what he hopes that his legacy will be at UH, Colt said:
"I want to be remembered for being that really awesome Hawaii quarterback, that it wasn't the numbers, it was how he played the game. I want to be remembered as someone real who told it like it was." (HSB)

About the 7am practice time yesterday, John Estes said:
"We're still on Hawaii time, and some of us are still used to sleeping at 12 or 1 (a.m.) A lot of us went to sleep at 3. (Coach June Jones) does everything for a reason." (HSB)

Asked if anyone missed their first night of 11pm curfew, Jeff Reinbold said:
"I'm Sgt. Schultz from 'Hogan's Heroes.' I know nothing." (HSB)

HSB Note: "UH spokesman Gregg Takayama officially reported what Jones told the Star-Bulletin a couple of weeks ago: The Warriors have no academically ineligible players for Tuesday's game.
All of the 100-plus players earned at least a C average while taking at least 6 credits in the fall semester. A total of 66 players (55 percent of team members) earned a 2.8 grade-point average, while 50 (42 percent) were at 3.0 or above. Takayama said moving study halls from lower campus to Sinclair Library was a positive move."

About UH's offense, Georgia defensive coordinator Martinez said:
"We know they're going to get their yards. But what we don't want to do is allow a 10-yard pass play to become 40 or 50 yards because we didn't make a tackle in space. You have to pressure the quarterback or he's going to pick you apart." (HSB)

About how UH's offense has seen all of the variations of pass defenses, Dan Morrison said:
"The one thing about this offense, because we throw so much, they've seen virtually every zone dog blitz coverage disguise known to mankind. There's a certain knowledge base that they have that it doesn't take them long to sort of sort it out and start to make some adjustments. And June really helps them with that from the sidelines, too." (HSB)

About how he loves UH's offense, Colt said:
"I love this offense. Because the only way it can be stopped is if we don't execute it. And that's the truth, man. We've seen everything there is to see." (HSB)

About UH's offense, Martinez said:
"To be successful in any offense, you need to have players, and Hawaii has great players at every position. They have a great quarterback in Colt Brennan, some smooth receivers and what we think has not been talked about enough is their talented offensive line. They understand their scheme very well, which makes it tough to get to the quarterback. They get rid of the ball quickly, presenting us with a major challenge." (HSB)

Looking forward to pass rushing all game vs. UH, Marcus Howard said:
"We know Hawaii is going to come out and throw the ball nearly 50 times. I mean, they pass 90 percent of the time. This is the type of game that the defensive line dreams of, you know, getting a great pass rush and trying to disrupt the quarterback." (HSB)

About UH's offense, CB Asher Allen said:
"Basically Hawaii has been efficient as they have been for the past three years. This is nothing really new. The run-and-shoot offense, when run correctly, is really dangerous. We just have to try our best to make sure that when they do catch the ball, they pick up a minimal gain. We need to get deflections and stuff like that to disrupt their offensive flow." (HSB)

About how they have to minimize the YAC UH gets, Martinez said:
"We have been telling our kids that it is important when they make a 10-yard gain that it stays a 10-yard gain. We have to minimize the yards that are made after the catch, because they will get their yards. It is a rhythm offense and we need to do what we can to disrupt their flow. We have to do a good job on third down and put them in a lot of long-yardage situations. They are so efficient on first and second down that they do not allow themselves to be put into third-and-long situations. We have played what we think is a very good schedule and have been challenged with the spread offense. We need to set the tempo and give our offense some good field position." (HSB)