50/50

The speculation ends tomorrow. Until then, we can all gnash our teeth. Colt Brennan, who was at Yale for the 2006 Walter Camp Football Foundation All-Americans banquet, spoke to Stephen Tsai about his future.

Pressed for a what-if answer on ESPN's The Pulse yesterday, Brennan said: "If it's just hypothetically, I'd probably go to the NFL."

Later, Brennan told The Advertiser, he remains at "50-50."

"The guy put me on the spot," Brennan said. "He wanted an answer, and I said, 'fine, hypothetically, yeah.' It didn't mean anything. I'm just trying to get through the question, that's all."

Two months ago, Brennan said it was his "full intention" to play for the Warriors in 2007. But after strong performances against Purdue and Arizona State in the Hawai'i Bowl, and after setting six single-season NCAA records, including best pass-efficiency rating and most touchdown passes, Brennan's stock skyrocketed.

Several NFL scouts projected he would be one of the top three quarterbacks selected in the NFL draft. An NFL assessment committee, known for providing conservative evaluations for underclassmen, said Brennan would be a second-round selection.

...


Brennan said: "The only thing that's stressful is it's not as easy a decision as I thought it would be. It's win-win, but it's really hard. It would be easier if there's something pushing me in a direction, like it was easy to see and clear.

"But all of the pros and cons I go through, it always ends up 50-50," he added. "No matter who says it or what someone says, it's always right down the middle."

Colt also talks to Shawn Courchesne of the Hartford Courant about the pros and cons.

"I'm waiting until the last possible time to make my decision," said Brennan, a junior.

...

"I would love to go back to Hawaii as a senior and finish my career there, but at the same time it's kind of hard because there's so much opportunity presenting itself right now," Brennan said. "Because of the way the season went, there's a lot of positive momentum for me to enter this draft right now. There's a lot of people out there saying now is my time. It's a tough decision, but it's a great position to be in."

A committee of NFL scouts that reviews tape of underclassmen who are considering entering the draft told Brennan that he would probably be a second-round pick.

"Next year doesn't guarantee me anything," Brennan said. "That's why most people are telling me to do this now because it can't get any better than where I am right now. But I truly believe that we will have a great football team at Hawaii if I go back."

Lordy, I hope he's getting enough sleep. Whenever I'm at a restaurant and I can't decide between two dishes, agonizing over one versus the other, I usually wait until the very last second, and then just spit out the first thing that comes to mind when the waiter asks me what I want. Sounds like Brennan will be doing something similar tomorrow. Let's hope his choice is, in the words of Jim Leahey, DELICIOUS!