Colt Brennan

Nearly every college fantasy football fanatic over 35 can fondly recall the Rainbows’ magical nine-year tenure of coach June Jones at Hawaii. The Rainbows’ overwhelmed WAC opponents in Jones’ Run-and-Shoot scheme. The pass-happy coach guided Hawaii to a 76-41 record and posted seven winning seasons, including three double-digit campaigns. 

The apex of the Rainbows' arial assault culminated in the three-year tenure of QB Colt Brennan. In 2007, Brennan and the undefeated Rainbows (13-0) reached the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2008. Regrettably, the Hawaii signal caller never got the passing game in flight, and Georgia easily steamrolled the Rainbows 41-10. 

Despite a disheartening ending to a tremendous career, Brennan’s impact on CFF cannot be understated. In 2007, the Rainbows’ passer finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting and was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Award after passing for 4,343 yards and 38 touchdowns. He was also named Third Team All-American.

The year before, Brennan recorded his best statistical crusade and the numbers are mind-blowing. He completed 72.6% of his throws for 5,549 yards and 58 touchdowns while logging 9.9 yards per attempt. He captured the Sammy Baugh Award, Finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and finished sixth in the Heisman race. He broke or tied 20 FBS, 17 WAC and 41 program records.

In back-to-back campaigns as a junior and senior, Brennan collected the WAC Offensive Player of the Year and was named First Team All-WAC. During his Hawaii tenure, he posted 30 games with 300 or more yards passing, 20 outings with 400-plus yards, and four games with greater than 500 yards. He established a school-record 559 passing yards against Arizona State in the 2006 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. 

The Rainbows' passer set or tied 31 records during his memorable three-year tenure: including career touchdown passes (131), single-season touchdown passes (58) and total touchdowns (146). One of the distinguished quarterbacks since the turn of the twenty-first century earned his place into the inaugural CFF Hall of Fame Class of 2025 by soaring above the competition.

by John Laub