To Go to College in Hawaii

Rookie quarterback Colt Brennan, the Washington Redskins' sixth-round draft pick, did not live the typical college experience, even by the standards of a college athlete. He starred at Hawaii, where he broke 31 NCAA records, including career touchdown passes (131).

It's just real different, real unique from what you expect in college. When you go to a place like Hawaii, what you substitute is that college experience in the sense that it's not a college town. It's kind of tucked right outside a giant city [Honolulu] and a lot of people that go to the school commute from all over the island.

It's like a giant junior college, in a sense. Now the thing you get in return from that is you live in Hawaii. You're five, 10 minutes from the beach.

What I really enjoyed is there was city, you could go to the country, some of the most beautiful spots in Hawaii on the North Shore [or] beaches like Sandy Beach and Makapu'u. Basically it's just a lifestyle and an atmosphere you can't find anywhere else in the United States.

Even though you might have a college dorm situation or college living experience or college town experience, you had this great affiliation with the island and the people and you learn about a different culture and a different way of life. . . .

One thing they call Hawaii is the melting [pot] of the Pacific. If you went to a Nebraska, or an Iowa or some places in the South, you know what you're getting into. You know what the reputation is of the community and the people. When you get out to Hawaii you're mixed with Polynesian descent from all over ¿ Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Hawaiians, obviously -- people over from the mainland who acclimate themselves to Hawaii. You're always getting this broad view of different people and cultures, and what they're like from all over the world. You get this kind of universal experience while you're out there.

-- Interview by Mark Viera