Aloha Means Touchdown: The Legacy of Colt Brennan

Oct. 14, 2016

Visors, long sleeves, and tights. What if I told you Johnny Manziel wasn't the pioneer of that trend? What if I also told you that pass heavy offenses were popularized in the ocean? In today's college football world, it is more uncommon to see a player with few accessories. Back in 2005, the NCAA didn't allow for much individuality on any team when it came to additional clothing with a jersey. It was also uncommon to see a team pass more than 30 times in one game, let alone every one. That all changed when #15 arrived in Honolulu.

Colt Brennan was hardly the coveted recruit, as he walked on at the University of Colorado in 2003 and was redshirted that year. After some legal troubles, Brennan was kicked off the team and found his way to a junior college called Saddleback College in California. Brennan utilized that opportunity to transfer to Hawaii in 2005 when Warriors' coach June Jones offered him a walk-on opportunity. With a fresh start and a changed attitude, Brennan quickly worked his way into the starting lineup and found some cohesion with his receivers. Starting 10 of their 12 games, Brennan broke or tied 11 school records in his first season. The pair of Brennan and coach June Jones' Run-N-Shoot offense allowed for receivers to adjust their routes based on the defensive reaction, giving Brennan multiple options within each play and route. In a run-heavy era, Brennan turned many heads his teams' direction by having numerous 300+ and 400+ passing games. Against New Mexico State, he threw for 515 yards and seven touchdowns, which was unheard of outside of maybe Texas Tech. Keep in mind, Brennan is doing this in his first year in the offense, and year 2 would only get better.

2006 brought high hopes for the Warriors with Brennan and his top receivers (Ryan Grice-Mullen, Davone Bess, and Jason Rivers) all returning. The fireworks were put on hold as Hawai'i started the year 1-2 with losses to #24 Alabama and Boise State, but things turned around quickly. Brennan and Co. put up 50 points in four of their next five games (and scored 49 in that fifth game). Brennan would finish the year with 5,549 yards passing (good for 5th most all time) and 58 passing touchdowns (an NCAA record to this day) while also finishing sixth in the Heisman voting. His trio of receivers would finish with 3,168 yards and 36 touchdowns, and all would return to campus in the fall. Hawai'i finished the year 11-3 a year after finishing 5-7 in Brennan's first year at QB, and that progress gave fans much to be excited about heading into 2007.

With the Grice-Mullen, Bess and Rivers returning again, Brennan had little concern that his team would continue to thrive. Hawai'i's schedule was anything but tough, and you can bet the offense was chomping at the bit to get started.

I mean look at that schedule. Any team in 2016 would die for a schedule that easy (minus Boise State and Washington). Like if you took Baylor's non-conference schedule and put it into a full season, this is what you would get. That being said, Hawai'i took care of business by winning every game to finish 12-0, the best finish in school history. Brennan again had an impressive year, though his numbers weren't as prolific as the last years. He only threw for 4,343 yards and 38 touchdowns (insert sarcasm here), which was still outstanding. The receiving trio would improve their totals to 3,812 yards and 38 touchdowns. Rising up to #10 in the rankings, the Warriors earned a bid to the 2008 Sugar Bowl against #5 Georgia. What started as a promising and thrilling season quickly turned into a disaster, as the Bulldogs sacked Brennan 8 times, forced him to throw 3 interceptions. A quiet performance from Brennan and the trio led to a 41-10 loss and disappointing end to a stellar season.

Although the game didn't end how Brennan wanted, he still provided college football with entertainment that had been largely unseen. His team also brought light to the phrase "look good, play good" with their accessories. Hawai'i provided players with helmet stickers that were skull and crossbones for various acheivement, and were added to each of their three helmets (Black, Green, and Grey). Hawai'i could have almost been called Oregon before Oregon with their multiple uniform options. Players, led by Brenna, Grice-Mullen, Bess, and Rivers also wore visors on their helmets, long sleeves, and tights on their legs. They may not have been the first ones to do it, but they certainly made a statement by winning and forcing people to see them nationally. Hawai'i had some of the filthiest uniforms back in the day, and it's too bad those days are over. Still, when you look back at what they wore, their uniforms and clothing were innovative and unprecedented.

PRESENT DAY

HAWAI'I: After the Sugar Bowl, coach June Jones announced he would be leaving to coach SMU's football team (ouch). Brennan would run out of eligibility and Grice-Mullen, Bess, and Rivers would also all leave Hawai'i. Without those key players, the Warriors would struggle and still haven't recovered. They haven't had a winning season since 2010, and are consistently at the bottom of the Mountain West. Jones would finish 36-43 at SMU and resign after realizing that he wouldn't be able to turn the program around in 2014. Hawai'i also would transition from Nike to Under Armour, and some of the uniform choices have been questionable at best (my advice, ditch the rainbow theme, it's not working). The Nike uniforms from the Brennan days were so simple, but some of my favorite uniforms in college football ever.

Brennan: Colt, who may have one of the best names in sports, would provide Hawai'i with a quarterback it may never see again. Granted, he played in a weak conference, but he still put up numbers that were unheard for the most part. He would finish his career with 14,193 yards passing and 132 touchdowns in three years at Hawai'i. Brennan would not stick with an NFL team for very long, and even tried other various leagues like the Arena Football League. He is currently coaching high school football in Honolulu at Moanalua High School, and I'm sure they are more than grateful. Brennan's ability to adapt in college was his underrated character. Since a lot of his teammates were of Samoan descent at Hawai'i, he learned the language to grow more accustomed to that culture. That knowledge also translated to the football field, where he used it to communicate to his receivers and confuse defenses. Some of his records were challenged or beaten by the likes of Graham Harrell of Texas Tech and Case Keenum of Houston. Brennan changed the way people think about college football, and even though his last game didn't go well, he still will be known as one of the best college football quarterbacks to ever play.

GROUP OF 5 TOP 4

TPO TOP 4

GOPHERS UPDATE

Record: 3-2
Last week: L, 14-7 vs Iowa
This week's opponent: Maryland Terrapins
Opponent record: 4-1
Site: Maryland Stadium
Player to shutdown: CB/KR/PR Will LikelyOutlook: Shaky at best. Maryland played a soft schedule to begin the year, and then got walloped in Happy Valley. Wins over Howard, Florida International, Central Florida, and Purdue don't exactly prepare you for Penn State. Still, the Terps are significantly better than last year and have some potential under first year coach DJ Durkin. Minnesota is coming off one of the worst defeats in a long time, and many are still trying to figure out what kind of team this is. The offense had been better to begin the season, but couldn't do anything against Iowa. The defense couldn't stop anyone, but has improved lately and is getting key players back. I never like using the term "must-win" but this game is a key moment in the Gophers season. A win would ease some concerns, but a loss would be catastrophic. I'm not saying losing to Maryland is the worst thing, but with how the last two games went for Minnesota, a loss would derail everything people thought about this season (if those thoughts have already been destroyed). This is a pivotal game for a team that was supposed to succeed with a "soft" schedule, and now it's time to prove they are improved. Do-it-all CB Will Likely is explosive for Maryland, and teams have kicked away from him whenever they can. Likely has been used on offense sparingly, but Maryland may try to his him more as the season goes on. Even with Mitch Leidner's status in questions because of a concussion, a win is expected. This is an improved Terps team that still has a long ways to go, but Minnesota needs to show it's the better team to avoid taking a step back. The "Les Miles to Minnesota" campaign is on hold for now.