Former Hawaii star quarterback Colt Brennan was found unconscious at a rehabilitation center days before he died.
Brennan’s father, Terry Brennan, confirmed to Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Star Advertiser that his son died on Monday. The elder Brennan said Colt was found unconscious at a rehab facility days before he died at a hospital in Newport, Calif.
Terry said Colt, 37, was in the fifth month of an inpatient program. He said Colt had been doing great before the incident, which ultimately took his life.
“He was doing so well, the spark was back in his eyes, and he was healthy and doing great, and it happened,” Terry Brennan said. “He had been doing really (well). These guys were no-nonsense guys. It just got away from him. I don’t know how else to explain it. Maybe one day I’ll be able to explain it better.”
Terry said his son was surrounded by family at the time of his death and “went peacefully.”
Brennan, who was originally from Laguna Beach, Calif., was the starting quarterback at Hawaii from 2005 to 2007. He lit up the stat sheet during his three seasons with the program, completing 70.4 percent of his passes for 14,193 yards, 131 touchdowns and 42 interceptions. The 131 touchdown passes rank fourth all time in NCAA Division I FBS history.
Brennan was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2007, when he led Hawaii to an undefeated regular season. The Rainbow Warriors lost to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl that year.
After his huge season in 2007, Brennan was drafted in the sixth round by Washington. He spent two seasons there before signing with the then-Oakland Raiders for a brief time. Brennan then went on to play in several other pro football leagues when his NFL career fizzled out.
