While we're waiting to see whether Brennan will come out, as someone who has watched most of Hawaii's games this year, I have to say that Colt is far superior to Timmy Chang, Klingler, etc. He is not a system QB, I believe he played in traditional offenses before coming to Hawaii. He admitted that he did not have a grasp of June Jones' system last year, yet still managed to lead the nation in total offense. This has to be attributed to Brennan's native skills: quick release, mobility in the pocket, being able to throw accurately on the run, better than average foot speed, and ability to make reads quickly and decisively. Thus, he could do well under center as well. (Timmy Chang spent his high school and college years in the spread offense, so maybe he could be accused of being a system QB.) I think the most impressive thing about Colt is his ability to go through his progressions - and then quickly deliver the ball. The second most impressive thing is that he throws a catchable ball - close to perfect spirals every time, and he throws them where the receiver can catch it in stride. He completed over 72.5% of his passes - someone calculated that if the passes dropped were caught, that his competion percentage was more like 82%. He is the most accurate QB I have ever seen. He instills confidence among the players (and fans) that he will find a way to move the chains. Perhaps he doesn't have as much arm strength as Carr, but Brennan can throw deep and throw the out quickly enough, and with more accuracy.
The two knocks on him are his throwing motion and his weight. HIs throwing motion is kinda like Bernie Kosar's, or Flutie at times; Rivers' throwing motion is a little higher. Except for the Purdue game, where he had several balls batted down, it hasn't been that much of a problem, no more than say normal motion QBs. June Jones stated that it would do more harm than good to change the motion. He also noted that Colt makes throws that other QBs can't make due to the motion. Colt can sidearm passes to the flat, steering the ball away from onrushers. I don't think one should change Brennan's motion, any more than one would change Philip Rivers' motion. Brennan acknowledges that he will have to put on at least 20 pounds of muscle to withstand the rigors of the NFL. Thus, another year at Hawaii may help him achieve this goal. His father made an interesting comment along the lines of whether he will gain the weight with another year of college or by standing on the sidelines with a clipboard with an NFL team.
As a Warrior fan, of course I want Colt to return. Truth be told, he gains nothing, football wise, from staying at Hawaii. His statistics speak for themselves. People devalue them because Brennan plays in the WAC or Brennan is in a gimmick offense, etc. But the statistics mean something. Even if you penalized him 10% or 25% on his stats for being in the WAC or being in the run and shoot, he would still have passed for more yards than Smith or Quinn. He went to a prep school for a year after high school and had the Colorado debacle; he will be 24 this year. He faces the Leinhart question, whether his stock could fall with another year. Just hope that he makes the right decision for him.
