Glancing Ahead

UH still has the Hawaii Bowl to play, so I don't want to take a full look ahead, but Colt Brennan has brought a lot of good publicity to the University of Hawaii this past week that should carry over into next year, if he stays. Or even if he doesn't. But stay Colt, stay. No stay go. Anyway, Stephen Tsai talks to Colt about his trip.

"That was a lot of traveling," Brennan said. "Except for that, it was a fun trip."

Brennan said the best part was learning that, according to a polling of fans, he finished second in the Heisman and first in the Davey O'Brien races.

"That means just as much as winning the awards," Brennan said. "I realize maybe the football analysts and so-called experts might not think I'm worthy, but people across America thought I was, and that's pretty special.

"Most of all, it was chance to put our program in the national spotlight. I'm glad I'm able to represent the team and Hawai'i."

He placed 6th in Heisman, so if he returns, he'll be on a lot of pundits Heisman 2007 watch lists, including the people who gave him a first place vote this year, like Stephen Tsai mentions in this Warrior Beat post.

There's also people who put him in their top 3 this year, including Jerry Ratcliffe of The Daily Progress:

I like Brennan more than Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn. I’ve stayed up a few nights to watch Brennan play and he executes June Jones’ offense to precision. You may not have heard much about him because Hawaii gets little pub with the lateness of their games, but he’s the real deal. He’s one touchdown pass short of an NCAA record 54 this season and leads the nation in five statistical categories, including 4,990 passing yards.

Bernie Lincicome of The Rocky Mountain News sounds like he'll have a vote as well.

And the best quarterback in college football is not any of the above. The best quarterback in college football is junior Colt Brennan of Hawaii, hardly a household name even in his own house.

And it also helps Brennan and the school when he's listed as a finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, or even... the Cingular?

Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, Rutgers running back Ray Rice, and Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith have been selected as the four finalists for the Cingular All-America Player of the Year by a panel of ESPN college football analysts.

Fans can determine the winner by text messaging "VOTE" to "87654" on their wireless phone and casting their votes for the nominees. Fans who participated in the Player of the Week voting during the season will automatically receive a text message with the four candidates.

So start texting!