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Colt Brennan

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Colt Brennan
refer to caption
Colt Brennan (right) with H.C. Jim Zorn at the Redskins 2008 Training Camp.
Washington Redskins
Career information
College:Hawaii
NFL draft:2008 / Round: 6 / Pick: 186
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards

Colton "Colt" James Brennan (born August 16, 1983 in Template:City-state) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Redskins in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii.

Brennan holds the NCAA D-I record for most touchdown passes in a single season with 58, as well as 30 other NCAA Division I FBS records.

Personal

While at Hawaii, Brennan grew dreadlocks to better bond with his wide receivers, and learned enough Samoan so that he could use it to call plays from the line of scrimmage; Hawaii has a number of players of Samoan descent. His parents are Betsy and Terry Brennan of Irvine, California. His father Terry is the CEO of Leighton & Associates of Irvine.[1] Brennan was a communications major.[2] On December 16, 2007, Brennan and defensive tackle Siave Seti, defensive ends Amani Purcell, Karl Noa, linebacker Rustin Saole, and the team's spiritual advisor Corey Galon for the 2007 Fall commencement ceremony, Brennan received his Bachelor of Arts in communications and a 27-second standing ovation.[3] [4] It was fitting that in honor of Brennan's achievements this year, the commencement speaker, Hawaii-based venture capitalist Barry Weinman, donned Brennan's No. 15 jersey while delivering the commencement address.[5]

Early years

Brennan attended Mater Dei High School in California. He helped Mater Dei to the league championship in basketball as a senior. While at Mater Dei, Brennan was the backup quarterback to Matt Leinart until Leinart graduated.[1] After graduating from Mater Dei, Brennan attended Worcester Academy in Massachusetts for a postgraduate year, where his primary targets were David Ball, now a wide receiver for the New York Jets, and Carl Elliott, the former starting point guard on George Washington's basketball team.

College career

Colorado

Brennan originally joined the poooper scoopper University of Colorado football team in 2003 as a walk-on. He spent the year as a redshirt.

Explusion from the team

On January 28, 2004, Brennan entered uninvited the dorm room of a University of Colorado student, and, according to the victim, "exposed himself and fondled her',"[6] a charge which Brennan denied.[7] Brennan, who was intoxicated at the time of the incident, was arrested and eventually convicted of charges of felony burglary and trespassing[8] (serving one week in jail along with probation until he graduated from college), but a guilty verdict for unlawful sexual contact was vacated by the court for lack of evidence.[1] After the incident, which was caught up in the middle of the time when CU was flooded with other accusations of sex crimes and revelations of wild recruiting parties involving Colorado football players, Brennan was kicked off the team.[9]

Saddleback College

Brennan transferred to Saddleback College in California in 2004 and helped lead the school to a conference championship. He was named honorable mention All-America, state offensive player of the year, and first-team all-conference for his performance that season. Brennan repaired his image well enough for Hawaiʻi head coach June Jones to offer him a walk-on opportunity at Hawaiʻi. Looking to put some distance between himself and his past problems and interested in Jones' quarterback knowledge, Brennan accepted the offer and turned down an offer from San Jose State.[1]

Hawaii

2005

Colt Brennan joined Hawaiʻi in 2005 and quickly grabbed the starting spot at quarterback. He started 10 of 12 games, the only games he did not start being against USC and San Diego State. Brennan either tied or broke 11 UH offensive records in what was a wildly successful first season with the Warriors. Brennan led the country in total offense yards (4,455) and touchdowns thrown (35). His 4,301 yards passing is the eighth-most in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) history. Against New Mexico State (Oct. 15), Brennan posted career-high numbers in passing yards (515), touchdowns (7), and pass completions (38). He also had nine 300+ yard performances on the season, including four 400+ yard games and a 515-yard performance.

2006

Brennan entered the 2006 season as the undisputed starter at quarterback, was named to multiple award watch lists and was voted the WAC's preseason offensive player of the year. He led the nation in scoring and passing efficiency, finishing the regular season with a 182.8 rating, and completed 72.15% of his passes, the best mark in Division I-A.

During the regular season, Brennan passed for 53 touchdowns, one shy of the NCAA Division I-A single-season touchdown record of 54 (set in 1990 by David Klingler of Houston). On December 24, 2006, at the Hawaiʻi Bowl, Brennan threw for 5 touchdowns to break the record. (Statistics accumulated during the postseason now count towards records.)[10] The Warriors finished the season with a 11–3 record, placing second in the WAC behind Boise State.

Brennan finished sixth in the 2006 Heisman race, behind winner Troy Smith, Darren McFadden, Brady Quinn, Steve Slaton, and Mike Hart.[11] During the season, Colt Brennan threw for 5,549 yards, 58 touchdowns, and the highest passer efficiency in America. According to Jones, "Colt is a money guy. Colt is what I said he is: the best college quarterback in America, and he proved it tonight." [12] During a press conference on January 17, announced that he was returning to the University of Hawaiʻi for his senior season.[13] Brennan didn't feel he was fully prepared for the NFL and needed another year to get ready. Brennan returned to Hawaiʻi as a Heisman front runner and one of the NCAA's most prolific passers.[14] Rivals.com named him one of the top-10 quarterbacks going into the 2007 season.[15]

2007

Brennan entered the 2007 season on a mission to go undefeated and earn a trip to the BCS. On November 23, 2007, Brennan broke the major college career record for touchdown passes, throwing five touchdown passes against then #17 ranked Boise State Broncos.Brennan threw the record-breaking #122 in the first quarter, a 6-yard TD out pass to Ryan Grice-Mullen to surpass the mark set by former Brigham Young University standout Ty Detmer in 1991. With the pass, Brennan also broke Detmer's record for most touchdowns responsible for with 136.[16] Brennan's Hawai'i team would go on to defeat the Washington Huskies 35-28 in the final game of the regular season to finish with a 12-0 record, an unprecedented undefeated regular season for the Warriors[17], finishing the 2007 season with a #10 AP ranking and a bid to 2007 BCS Sugar Bowl against #5 BCS ranked Georgia. However, the Sugar Bowl turned out to be a one-sided affair, as Georgia defeated Hawaii 41–10. Brennan went 22/38 for 169 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT. Throughout the game, Georgia was able to effectively rush Brennan's passes, often with only three down lineman, allowing Georgia to employ an 8 man zone scheme. This game cost Brennan the all-time passer efficiency rating that he held prior to the game. Brennan was later quoted as saying, "This is not how I wanted my career to end."[18]

On January 7, 2008, Brennan cleaned out his locker at the University of Hawaii. He stated his concerns for the deteriorating UH facilities before departing from Hawaii to prepare for the Senior Bowl. Brennan brought up the horrible condition of the campus in general, citing a Verizon computer room that has limited access to students, run down meeting rooms, and the infield of Cooke Field. Brennan described yesterday as "a sad day"; not only was he leaving Hawaii but former coach June Jones also ended his tenure with the university.[19]

June Jones

June Jones, Brennan's former coach, had a large impact upon his career, making him one of the most prolific passers in NCAA Division 1 history. In a short January 6, 2008 interview Brennan said of Jones: "He's obviously done a lot for me because he gave me a chance and that's really what I was looking for... He really gave me the confidence to take my game at the next level and give me the confidence to play like an All-American." Jones was instrumental in bringing Brennan to Hawaii during his sophomore year. After the Hawaii Warriors lost the 2008 Sugar Bowl against the University of Georgia, Jones revealed in a press conference that he will no longer be coaching at the University of Hawaii.[20]

Awards and honors

Records

Some of Brennan's achievements include:

  • NCAA record for most career touchdown passes (131). Achieved November 23 2007.
  • NCAA record for most career touchdowns responsible for (146). Achieved November 23 2007.
  • NCAA record for most 400 yard games (20). Achieved in 2007.
  • Tied NCAA record for most career touchdown passes by a quarterback-receiver combination (39 to Davone Bess). Achieved November 23 2007.
  • NCAA single-season record for most touchdown passes, achieved in 2006 (58)
  • NCAA two-season record for most touchdown passes, (96 -- achieved 2006-2007)
  • NCAA record for passing efficiency (season), posting a 186.0 mark in 2006
  • NCAA record for most points responsible for (season) with 385. (2006)
  • NCAA record for highest pass completion percentage (70.4%).
  • Third all-time in total passing yards with 14,193 behind Ty Detmer and Timmy Chang.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Brennan was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round (186th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was the 10th quarterback selected that year. On July 14, Brennan and the Redskins agreed to a four-year contract worth around $1.8 million.

Brennan saw his first NFL game action during the Hall of Fame Game versus the Indianapolis Colts on August 3. He was impressive in his debut completing 9 of 10 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns for a 157.5 passer rating in the Redskins' victory.[21] Brennan's success continued just two weeks later against the New York Jets when he completed 4 of 5 passes for 79 yards and scored the game winning touchdown on a 33 yard pass to Jason Goode [22]

Brennan led all 2008 NFL rookies in touchdown passes, passing yards and quarterback rating through the preseason. [23] He finished the 2008 preseason with a very strong performance, going 36 for 53, throwing for 411 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. For the preseason, Brennan's completion percentage was 67.9% and his quarterback rating was 109.9. He also rushed on 2 attempts, gaining 11 yards.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Chris Dufresne, Cult of Colt, Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2007.
  2. ^ "University of Hawaii at Manoa, Journalism Program". Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  3. ^ "I got a degree, I'm all set". Retrieved 2007-12-30. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 16 (help)
  4. ^ "Hawaii quarterback graduates from college". Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  5. ^ "Brennan Joins 1,200 Others In Graduation Ceremony". Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  6. ^ "Second chance leaves Brennan on verge of history". Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  7. ^ "SBrennan: QB with a past and presence". Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  8. ^ Song, Jaymes (2006-11-02). "QB Brennan on a roll in his second season at UH". Associated Press via the Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  9. ^ "Brennan gets back up". Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  10. ^ "Brennan breaks NCAA season TD pass mark". Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  11. ^ "Smith strikes pose with record Heisman win". Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  12. ^ "Brennan eyeing return to Hawaii, but NFL not ruled out". Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  13. ^ "Hawaii QB Colt Brennan will return for senior season". Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  14. ^ "Another year would only help Brennan". Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  15. ^ Rivals.com's QB Power Rankings, CNNSI.com, April 2, 2007.
  16. ^ "Brennan breaks NCAA career mark for TD passes". Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  17. ^ "Hawaii rallies from 21 down to save perfect season". Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  18. ^ ESPN - Georgia's defense pummels Brennan to fuel Sugar Bowl rout - NCAA College Football Recap
  19. ^ Brennan says plenty still to do at Hawaii - The Honolulu Advertiser
  20. ^ Brennan talks about Coach Jones' impact | KHON2 FOX | Local Top Stories
  21. ^ Redskins rookie Brennan throws 2 TDs in comeback against Colts
  22. ^ http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=280816020
  23. ^ http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&statisticCategory=PASSING&season=2008&seasonType=PRE&experience=0&tabSeq=0&qualified=false
Preceded by Hawaiʻi Warriors Starting Quarterbacks
2005-2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Sammy Baugh Trophy Winner
2006 		Succeeded by

Template:Sammy Baugh Trophy

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