By Adam Abramson
I've sat near scouts during college football games before and I've always walked away thinking the same thing: They're meticulous.
Knowing this, it made me laugh to see Colt Brennan say he lost millions by staying an extra year at Hawaii and falling to the No. 186 overall pick by the Washington Redskins.
Brennan stayed an extra year in paradise to throw 20 fewer touchdowns and 1,200 fewer yards. But his final year in Honolulu garnered him Heisman looks, a sweet tan and living on the beach. More importantly, he stayed to front a campaign that solidified my argument that the Hawaiis of the world generally fare little chance in BCS games.
Scouts, GMs, coaches and owners don't draft numbers. While Brennan regressed on the stat sheet, he didn't regress in intangibles and skill set.
After Brennan's decision following his junior campaign, The Honolulu Advertiser ran a piece about Brennan passing up the big bucks with the following passage:
UH head coach June Jones said Brennan would have been selected between the 10th and 20th pick in the first round. Matt Leinart, Brennan's high-school teammate, was the 10th pick in last year's draft. He signed a six-year contract worth up to $51 million.
Couple of things to point out:
1. Matt Leinart is a 6'5", 230-pound stud who ran a pro-style offense at Southern California. He won a Heisman Trophy and National Title manning a program that ranks near the Miami Dolphins in talent. Colt Brennan is 6'3 and weighs 205 in a rain storm. He put up monster numbers in a division that fooled linebackers my size (6'1, 200, for the record). The two's college careers are not comparable.
2. Brady Quinn was the second quarterback drafted in the 2007 draft, at No. 22. There's ZERO chance Brennan would have been drafted before Quinn. The two quarterbacks drafted after Quinn, Kevin Kolb (No. 36) and John Beck (No. 40), would have likely been drafted ahead of Brennan as well.
I'm not saying Brennan can't succeed at the NFL level, but he'll definitely earn any playing time he gets. While Leinart is being groomed to lead the Cardinals in the future, the Redskins are focusing on Jason Campbell and have their fingers crossed Brennan will contribute on some level.
Comments (3)
Colt may have not been drafted in the 1st round (after his junior year), but after a thorough dismantling of Arizona State, in the bowl game, its reasonable to surmise that he would have at least gone somewhere in the 2nd round which would have earned him over 1.5M in signing bonus and of course a nice fat salary.
As for June Jones, nobody takes him seriously anymore. His credibility over the years has taken major blows simply because his ego has outgrown his head. He's SMU's problem now.
Nobody can say with any certainty (if they're honest) how Colt will do in the NFL, but I know one thing, with Zorn grooming Colt for the new WCO, this offense is tailor made for what Colt does best. If the Redskins offensive line can do better than the Hawaii line (see Sugar Bowl), then Colt could very well throw lights out, like he did in college, when his offensive line was up against comparable talent.
Colt may have not been drafted in the 1st round (after his junior year), but after a thorough dismantling of Arizona State, in the bowl game, its reasonable to surmise that he would have at least gone somewhere in the 2nd round which would have earned him over 1.5M in signing bonus and of course a nice fat salary.
As for June Jones, nobody takes him seriously anymore. His credibility over the years has taken major blows simply because his ego has outgrown his head. He's SMU's problem now.
Nobody can say with any certainty (if they're honest) how Colt will do in the NFL, but I know one thing, with Zorn grooming Colt for the new WCO, this offense is tailor made for what Colt does best. If the Redskins offensive line can do better than the Hawaii line (see Sugar Bowl), then Colt could very well throw lights out, like he did in college, when his offensive line was up against comparable talent.
Scout,
All fair points. I don't know that Colt would have been a shoo-in to be a second round pick, but I do think he would have been in the third, making him a first day pick and more money than he made this year.
You're not alone with your thoughts on June Jones.
And I happen to agree with you on Colt finding a system in Washington that plays into his hands, especially with the Redskins using their first three picks on big-name pass catchers (Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Malcom Kelly). This should be a high-octane offense with what they already have in the fold and having two reliable tight ends in Davis and Cooley give any young quarterback a chance to develop properly. If Campbell is not the answer, which I and many others don't think he us, Brennan should get his fair chance to earn the money he's missing out on right now.