Colt Brennan, who played college football as a quarterback for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, passes away Tuesday, at the age of 37, according to his father, Terry Brennan.
Colt, who had public struggles with alcohol, died at a hospital in California, Terry told The Associated Press. “He just spent one too many times on the dark side of life, and it caught up with him,” Terry said of his son.
Colt was drafted by the Washington Redskins of the NFL in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
In 2007, Colt told The Associated Press, “Hawaii has inspired me to do a lot of great things.”
June Jones, who was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, called it a sad day for the islands. He said, “Colt was clearly the star of our program and what he did after the 2006 season by staying in school said a lot about him and how he cared much more about Hawaii and his teammates. That’s something that doesn’t happen anymore.”
The university athletics department called Colt “the focal point of one of the greatest eras in Rainbow Warrior football.”
“He was a phenomenal player and provided us some of the greatest sports memories we’ll ever have. But he was more than that,” it added. “For all that he accomplished on the football field and the adulation he received for it, he always remained among the people. He never turned down an autograph, he never turned down a picture with someone.”
Colt’s former teammate Mike Lafaele said, “I remember the first time I met him, he had that swagger about him, super-confident, didn’t care of what people thought and it really played out on the field. What a great leader he was on and off the field.” Born on August 16, 1983, Colt was a communications major. He received his Bachelor of Arts in communications and a 27-second standing ovation.
