The Glanville

Had a bit of a computer problem, and then a power failure in the building, but it's all good now.

Kalani Simpson writes a great profile of Jerry Glanville.

GLANVILLE HAS worked miracles, these past two seasons. Hawaii is tackling again, hitting. UH brings the thunder now. You can feel it. You can see it. His presence has uplifted this program. His defense is the difference between UH being merely pretty good and having the season it has had.

He's made these guys better. Everybody knows that.

But there's something even better happening, in this story. Something beyond the surface, behind the shades. Are you ready?

"I'm really probably a better coach than I've ever been," Glanville says.

You see, it's happened the other way around, too. These people. This place. These players that he'd been stuck with, rather than been able to replace via the waiver wire, they've coached him, too. Grown with him. Made him better, too.

I hope he doesn't leave, but it sounds like if the right opportunity came up, he would. I don't think June should let him though!

Stephen Tsai writes about Colt Brennan winning the Sammy Baugh Trophy.

It was surprising that a Columbus-based award went to anyone other than the hometown quarterback, Troy Smith of Ohio State.

"That really is unusual," said Dan Morrison, who coaches the UH quarterbacks. "I thought they'd present it to Troy Smith. Colt is very deserving. He had a phenomenal year. I'm glad he's getting recognized."

Told that he will be presented the award at a dinner in Columbus, Brennan said: "This is great. I met Troy (at an awards show). Maybe I'll call him up."

Tsai also talks about the future.

In a sneak preview for spring practice, quarterback Kiran Kepo'o put on an impressive display during yesterday's workouts.

Kepo'o, a 2006 Iolani School graduate, officially joins the Warriors in January. But because UH is not in session, Kepo'o is allowed to practice with the Warriors.

"It's really nice to finally be out here with these guys," said Kepo'o, who was enrolled as a part-time UH student during the fall semester. "It's been a long wait. I had to be patient."

Kepo'o is 6 feet 1 1/4 and 218 pounds. He said he wants to weigh 225 at the start of spring practice in April.

He'll learn a lot under Graunke and Funaki and Brennan.

Dave Reardon profiles Leonard Peters, who's been to the Hawaii Bowl a lot.

He also has a closet full of Hawaii Bowl shirts -- and Hawaii Bowl memories.

"My best is the triple overtime. I made the last tackle," Peters said, referring to UH's wild 54-48 win over Houston in 2003 that ended with a brawl. "They were all fighting and I was lying down on the ground. I was too tired to fight."

Peters has played most of his career hurt, and this year was no exception. He suffered torn rib cartilage in the season-opening game at Alabama.

"He's finally running like he's healthy," Jones said. "The time off (since the Dec. 2 regular-season finale) has a lot to do with it. He played hurt all year. This will be a fun game for him to play, close to 100 percent."

Erick Smith of USA Today calls the Hawaii-Idaho game the Blowout of the Year in college football.

Blowout of the Year: Hawaii 68, Idaho 10 – The Warriors started the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown and didn't slow down. Colt Brennan threw for five touchdowns, part of his astounding total of 53 scoring passes during the regular season.

Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press has a bowl game preview with this little blurb on the Hawaii Bowl.

Hawaii, Sunday: Hawaii vs. Arizona State - Hawaii QB Colt Brennan finally gets to play before a national audience during normal waking hours. Watch close, he could be on your NFL fantasy team in nine months.

And finally, here's a really complimentary article by Ryan Finley about Colt Brennan that seems to have been published today, but talks about who might win the Heisman. Good reading nonetheless.

Never heard of Brennan? Then you have not been staying up late enough. Hawaii was a midnight-eastern staple on the four-letter network. And why not? Like any late-night HBO or Cinemax movie, the Warriors had the action, flash and, yes, sex appeal to keep us from spinning the dials or dozing off.

Too bad so many people have bedtimes. While Brennan received my Heisman vote, he failed to make the final three for Saturday's award ceremony.

Instead, the leather-helmeted statue will go to Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn or Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden.