Q&A with Colt Brennan

SN = Sporting News

Asked if he's looking forward to training camp and to talk about his situation with Washington, Colt said:
"Well, I love the team. You can't ask for a better franchise. The fans are passionate, awesome. I love where I'm at right now. Right now, it's a big preseason for me. I get to step in this year. They've already made it clear that they're going to play me a ton in the preseason. We get to play four very talented teams and talented defenses, and that's going to be my test. And right now, it seems like it's in everyone's hands. For Jason Campbell it's his last year (of his contract)—it's in his hands to go out and earn that second contract. And for me, it's my chance to go out there for the second year and prove I belong, have a great preseason and show maybe I could be a starter one day." (SN)

Asked about how it appeared he had a lot of fun in college, Colt said:
"Well it's hard not to when you're in Hawaii, right?" (SN)

Asked about how he made something out of a difficult situation and have succeeded, Colt said:
"Definitely. When you look around the NFL, college, every day we read stories about kids that have risen up through adversity. And for me, it was the adversity that I faced early in my career really sparked me to go out and achieve more and put myself out there. And by doing so, a lot of great things happened to me." (SN)

Asked to talk about the mental part of his game because it is hard to go from being a walk-on to where he is now, Colt said:
"My cousin (Brad Brennan), who was really my hero growing up, went to the University of Arizona. I followed his path. I went to a prep school. He walked on at the U of A, and he was on that team that went (12-1) and beat Nebraska (in the 1998 Holiday Bowl). He was a big inspiration for me and the one thing I prided myself on was that I was a walk-on at Colorado, I was a walk-on at Hawaii. People really focused on a lot of other things in my career, but that was one thing that really separated me from a lot of people who have had success in the past—the fact that I was a walk-on and I was a kid who went out there and paid his own way and tried to earn it." (SN)

Asked if he ever talks to recruits to tell them his story, Colt said:
"For me, my life—especially when I went through adversity— was just kind of normal because I lived it my whole life and it just stepped into this unreal area that I never thought was possible. But what it did for me was give me the ability to step out, want more and reach more in life. And that was one thing that I did: have a passion for turning people's perception of me around and going out and achieving a lot in my life—especially when the chips were down and people didn't think it was possible. So having that title and watching my cousin as a walk-on, it was an inspiration to me and something I really wanted to do." (SN)

Asked if he attributed a lot of his numbers and success to JJ, Colt said:
"Absolutely, hands down, and hopefully I'll have a long career in the NFL. But I think he'll be one of the most talented coaches I've ever been around. He's an absolute guru on the football field. I remember going through his offense, and his one goal was to make it through a game without running the football. I swear that was a goal of his, and he got close a lot of times. But he was so good at throwing the ball on people that it really gave me these outstanding numbers that got myself out there on the map. And what happened was we started winning football games, and when you win games everything falls into place." (SN)

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2009-07-27/qa-redskins-qb-colt-brennan