Colt Brennan
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 205
College: Hawaii
Conference: WAC
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Overview
One of the most accurate passers in the history of college football, Brennan is the owner of 21 NCAA records in just over two seasons in a Warriors' uniform.
A model of consistency, he established many Bowl Subdivision records, including 34 consecutive games with at least 200 passing yards and 20 games with at least 400 yards in total offense. His average of 387.89 yards per game in total offense and a pass completion percentage of .712 are among myriad notable national marks he set among the 31 NCAA records that he established in just 38 games at Hawaii.
On the way to shattering numerous national Western Athletic Conference and school passing and total offense records, he has drawn the praise of opposing head coaches.
"Colt is as mobile and accurate quarterback that I've seen in a while," Boise State head coach Chris Peterson stated. "He has a great feel for the game and to stop Hawaii, you have to stop Colt."
At Mater Dei High School, Brennan earned three letters in football and one in basketball. The team's MVP in 2001, he added All-League first-team gridiron honors. He led the squad to a 9-5 record his final year, completing more than 68% of his passes with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, adding 200 yards and four scores on the ground.
The team went 11-2 his junior year and 9-1 during his sophomore campaign, when he led the team to the CIF championship with a win over powerhouse DeLaSalle High. After his senior year, he was invited to play in the County All-Star Game. He also lettered as a forward on the basketball team as a senior and the squad captured the CIF title.
Brennan turned down a scholarship offer from Utah State to enroll at Worcester Academy (Mass.) in 2002. He started seven games that season, completing 101-of-158 passes for 1,707 yards, 15 touchdowns and only four interceptions, but missed two games with a finger fracture. The All-New England Prep School choice helped the team to a 5-4 record, throwing for 287 yards and three scores on 16-of-22 attempts in an upset victory over Mount Ida and gained 390 yards with four scores in a triumph over Valley Forge.
Brennan enrolled at the University of Colorado in 2003 as a walk-on. He was listed fourth on the depth chart, but never appeared in a game at the school. His college career almost ended before it began when, on Jan. 28, 2004, he was arrested by campus police and charged with entering a co-ed's room. Uninvited, he was intoxicated at the time of the incident and the woman claimed he exposed himself and fondled her. He pleaded guilty to burglary and trespassing, but a charge of unlawful sexual contact was vacated by the court for lack of evidence. He was dismissed from the team.
Brennan transferred to Saddleback Community College, where he appeared in nine games during the 2004 season. He ranked third in the California junior college ranks with an average of 19.7 pass completions per game, seventh with an average of 253.7 yards passing and seventh in total offense (287.7 yards per game). He completed 177-of-259 passes (68.3%) for 2,532 yards, 23 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed for 57 yards on 66 tries (0.9-yard average) with a score, finishing with 2,589 total yards.
When coach June Jones recruited him to Hawaii, Brennan found someone with complete confidence in his passing skills. Jones slowly brought Brennan along in the early stage of the 2005 season before turning the starting reins over for 10 games. Brennan led an offensive attack that ranked second in the nation in passing (384.25 yards per game) and led the 1-A ranks in total offense (476.17 yards per game).
He ranked ninth nationally with a 155.49 pass-efficiency rating, leading the country with an average of 371.25 yards in total offense, 358.42 aerial yards and 19.17 points responsible for per game. His 4,301 yards was the best in the nation, as he completed 350-of-515 pass attempts (68.0%), with 35 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He finished second on the team with 154 yards and two scores on 99 carries (1.6-yard average) and totaled 4,455 yards on 614 offensive plays.
To most quarterbacks, Brennan's 2005 stats would represent an entire college career. But the 2006 season was even more impressive, and Brennan did it in record-shattering fashion. The Sammy Baugh Award winner and Davey O'Brien Award finalist finished second in the voting for Cingular National Player of the Year Award honors. He earned All-American first-team recognition from The NFL Draft Report, adding second-team accolades from Walter Camp. He was named Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and finished sixth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
Brennan would go on to set 18 NCAA, 17 WAC and 41 school records. He led the nation in pass efficiency (185.96), total offense (422.5 yards per game), points responsible for (27.71 ppg), yards passing (5,549), completion percentage (72.6) and yards passing per game (396.36). He hit on 406-of-559 tosses for 5,549 yards, including a national-record 58 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions. He finished second on the squad with 366 yards and five scores on 86 carries (4.3-yard average). He participated in 645 plays, gaining 5,915 total yards.
Brennan continued to torch opposing defensive backs in 2007, but he suffered a right ankle sprain in the team's third game vs. Nevada-Las Vegas that forced him to leave in the third quarter. Brennan re-injured the ankle the following week vs. Idaho and was forced to sit out the Charleston Southern game. He came back vs. Utah State, but his ankle didn't cooperate, forcing Brennan out just prior to halftime.
A concussion on a head-on collision vs. Fresno State would sideline him for the final 10 minutes vs. the Bulldogs and the following week, he saw just limited action vs. Nevada. In the Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia, he was shaken up in the fourth quarter and replaced for the final 14 minutes of Hawaii's only loss for the year.
Brennan managed to rank fifth in the nation in passing efficiency (159.85), fourth in points responsible for (23 per game) and passing yards (4,343), third in total offense (364.17 yards per game) and pass completions per game (29.92 per game) and second in average yards passing per game (361.92 ypg). The Hawaii quarterback connected on 359-of-510 passes (70.4%) for 4,343 yards, 38 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He scored eight times on 82 carries, recorded a solo tackle and amassed 4,370 yards in total offense.
In 38 games at Hawaii, Brennan started 35 times. He completed 1,292-of-1,584 passes (70.39%) for 14,193 yards, 131 touchdowns and 42 interceptions. He rushed 267 times for 547 yards (2.1-yard average) and 15 scores. On 1,851 offensive plays, he totaled 14,740 yards and 146 total touchdowns.
Including nine games at Saddleback College, Brennan participated in 47 collegiate games. He piled up 16,725 yards with 154 touchdowns and 46 interceptions on 1,292-of-1,843 throws (70.1%). He gained 604 yards with 16 scores on 333 carries (1.8-yard average). He totaled 17,329 yards on 2,176 offensive plays, an average of 368.7 yards per game.
Analysis
Positives: Has a tall, lanky frame, with good upper-body structure, tapered thighs and room to carry additional bulk -- at least 20 pounds -- with no loss in quickness...Runs with a normal stride, showing the valid speed and balance to force defenses to account for him when running with the ball...Very mobile in the pocket, which causes problems for a slower defense to cover him on roll-outs...Slides and adjusts to pocket pressure with ease, showing the body control to easily throw on the move...Has good acceleration driving back from center to his throwing point...Has the nimble feet to throw on the move and the arm strength to stretch the defenses when passing from the outside hashes...Shows ease of movement sliding in the pocket and while he lacks blazing speed, he is a threat to gain valid yardage running with the ball...Does a good job of taking plays from the chalkboard to the field and excels at adjusting to defensive coverage, making good pre-snap decisions...Plays with good intensity and won't get rattled under pressure...Quick decision-maker who has the confidence in his arm to make all the plays...Demonstrates good body control running with the ball, but needs to work on ball security (seven fumbles in 2006, nine in 2007)...Fires the ball out quickly and has the vision and patience to scan the field and wait for secondary targets to open...Even though he is used more in the shotgun, he has the good quickness to set and throw coming back from the center...Throws on the move as well as he throws from the pocket due to his fine balance and body control...Has a compact throwing motion and knows how to vary his release and delivery, carrying the ball at chest height and throwing over the top when in the pocket, or with a three-quarters sidearm delivery when passing on the move...Even with that release, his passes are high enough to not get batted down at the line of scrimmage...Has the arm strength to air the ball out, showing very good timing and ball speed...Plays with good awareness and always seems to know where his receivers are, doing a nice job of checking down and making progression reads...Has better timing and accuracy working the short-to-intermediate areas...Gets good trajectory on his deep throws, but must step into them better...Has very good anticipation skills and delivers a catchable ball that gets to his target without the receiver having to adjust (throws the ball to get it there when the receiver is about to come out of his break)...Does a fine job of stepping up or sliding when flushed out of the pocket (struggled with an ankle injury most of the 2007 season)...Knows when to throw, as he has the knack for anticipating when his receivers will be coming out of their cuts...Does a solid job of locating secondary targets and checking down, demonstrating very good vision on route-progression reads...Knows how to adjust his delivery when throwing on the move...Respected leader with good huddle presence...Has a good command of the offensive game plan and his teammates respect his ability to create and improvise with the ball in his hands...Has a feel for pocket pressure, knowing when to slide or step up to find the throwing lanes, as it is rare to see him step back or fall away from his tosses...Has the scrambling ability to throw on the run with good short-to-intermediate area accuracy, showing the nimble feet to buy time and the natural instincts to know when to run with the ball.
Negatives: Has good quickness and a strong throwing arm, but his overall core strength is marginal and he might struggle absorbing punishment at the next level...Field smart, but needs to make a better effort academically...Puts in the effort in the training room, but has marginal lifting habits...Does not have the size, strength or body mass you look for at his position...Can fire the ball with good strength, but when he throws off the wrong foot, his deep throws tend to wobble...Puts a lot of effort behind his deep throws, but his footwork needs to be refined...Will lose his composure under a fierce pass rush, but will generally step up and avoid...Will generally throw with a high release, but when he fires low, he gets lots of passes deflected (see 2007 Louisiana Tech game)...Has good arm strength, but must throw with better velocity when attacking the seam...Now scans the field well, but did lock on to his primary target too often in the early stages of his career...Will throw the ball with a three-quarters sidearm delivery when rolling out, but needs to refine that delivery (better when going over the top), as he will drop his arm too low at times and this affects his trajectory, resulting in deflected passes...Not the type that will force the ball into traffic when pressured, but possibly due to his ankle injury negating his foot speed in 2007, he struggled to maintain balance on roll-outs, resulting in a high amount of his passes being intercepted or deflected.
