Beyond the preseason accolades from national publications and the praise received from his University of Hawai'i football teammates and coaches, quarterback Colt Brennan has realized his life has changed dramatically.

"I was at the beach one day (in April), and I was asked to the prom," Brennan recalled. "She wanted me to give an answer right on the spot. I tried to be as nice as I could."

Brennan declined, but the incident illustrated his growing popularity.

In the past year, he has diminished concerns about his character — he served a seven-day sentence in early 2005 as a result of a dormitory incident at the University of Colorado two years ago — and, in his first season at UH, led the nation in total offense, passing yards and touchdown throws. He set those marks despite playing with injuries to both shoulders and only 75 percent command of the Warriors' four-wide passing offense.

Brennan is one of the most requested speakers for community-service events. He also is popular among teammates.

"He won them over," UH coach June Jones said, "the first time he puked (during a game)."

Slotback Davone Bess said: "He's our leader. He's the best quarterback in the country. He works hard every day to be the best."

Last month, Jones was asked to analyze the prospects for the 2007 National Football League draft. When it was suggested that Notre Dame's Brady Quinn would be regarded as the top quarterback prospect, Jones scoffed, insisting Brennan has the potential to be better.

"Colt will face all of the questions — that he has a low (throwing) motion, that he's a system guy, that he works out of the shotgun," Jones said. "Those things don't matter. He can adjust. He can play."

Jones then predicted Brennan, if he meets expectations, could be a first-round pick in 2007. Told that Brennan would be a junior at that time, Jones said, "Yeah, I know that."

Brennan, who is attending summer school at UH, took a break from his workouts and studies to answer some questions from The Advertiser:

On being accepted in Hawai'i:

"People out here in Hawai'i, compared to the Mainland, aren't about judging people. People on the Mainland have a tendency to get caught up in things, to focus on the drama. People out here are better at accepting people. They let time tell. I've noticed that. That's one of the things that made me want to come here. I love the laid-back culture. It was a good fit for me. I can't think of anything bad that happened to me out here involving that (Colorado) situation."

On his initial workouts with his UH teammates last summer:

"I kept it to football. I didn't try and come in here and gain everything early on. I was preparing for the long haul. I knew (quarterback and roommate) Tyler (Graunke) had the lead. I wasn't trying to come in and take over the team. I wanted to be a part of the team. As far as football, I tried to play the game and have fun with it."

On his knowledge of the UH offense last year:

"I think I was around 75 percent. I could run the offense with no problems. But knowing every aspect, what to do in the right situations, what to look for, I was maybe off 25 percent. But in spring practice (this past April), I felt I knew everything a lot better. I felt I was the veteran running it. I can't wait for (training camp) to start, and for coach Jones to take me to the next level.

"I remember one time (Jones) called the same play over and over because he wanted me to run it correctly. He was sick of me not being that good at it. It was against New Mexico State, and we were up on them early. He was like, 'I'm going to give you some work.' It was a choice route. I can't remember the protection (scheme). We ran it, and I think I scrambled. We ran it again, and I scrambled again. We ran it one more time, and I scrambled again. We ran it one more time, and I think I hit Davone Bess. (Jones) was going to make me learn that play that day."

On his relationship with Jones:

"The funny thing about coach Jones, the times I do the worst, when he's supposed to yell at me, that's when he's the coolest. That's when he's the nicest. He's always pushing me. He never lets me be happy where I'm at. He wants me to keep getting better. He's the smartest guy in this offense. He invented it. He knows how it should be run. He's always pushing. That's what a good coach does. It's funny, but I'll watch the (replay of) games on TV, and he'll look like he's a lot more upset with me than he actually is. He really is a lot nicer out there. When I'm out there, he doesn't grill me or go after me. He's coaching me. When I'm on the field, it's the opposite of what it looks like. He'll do some stuff where he's laughing or telling jokes, things people don't see."

On the first time he regurgitated in front of teammates:

"It was in training camp. We were running all of those 220s (10 sprints of 220 yards). Number one through seven, I was finishing in the middle of the pack. I was pacing myself the whole time because I was worried that I might shut down on the last couple. On No. 7, I came back and I felt great. I wasn't breathing heavy. On the last one, I said, 'I'm going to rip it, I'm going to go nuts.' I just took off. I sprinted as hard as I could. I think ended up first. After that, I laid on my back. All of a sudden the sun hit me and my body went right over the edge. I probably shouldn't have laid down. Everything I just ate and drank, all of that water and Gatorade, started rumbling in my stomach. My head was dizzy for a second. It was like my stomach was saying, 'Let's get this stuff out of here.' I just threw up. I felt fine. It was because I over-exerted myself for that short period."On regurgitating during games:

"It's kind of embarrassing. Sometimes the guys will go out and they'll meet somebody who'll ask: 'Where's the kid who pukes?' Some people think it's funny. Some think it's disgusting."

On his health:

"My right (throwing) arm is really strong right now. ... I never really hurt my shoulder before. But last year, I separated both AC joints. The one on my right shoulder was a pretty serious separation. The one on my left wasn't that bad at all. The one on my right, I had to get a cortisone shot. I was getting shots of novocaine before the game. That bye weekend, right after Michigan State, I had to sit there in a sling for a week and a half to rest it. Luckily, the injury happened at a time when I could heal it while the season was going on. I was able to protect it the rest of the year and make sure I didn't get any (hits) on it.

"It was the (season-opening) SC game when I actually separated it for the first time. A bone popped out. It felt really scary. The cool thing about the AC joint is it isn't really affecting the throwing. Throwing (relies on) the rotator cuff and the back of your shoulder. Luckily, the AC joint isn't a main joint when you throw the football. If I ever got hit, it hurt. When I would throw or use my arm, it wouldn't hurt that bad. It wasn't that detrimental to my game. Now both of my shoulders feel great. I don't have any pain.

"The worst thing was getting used to the medication that killed the pain. You feel weird. You don't feel pain, but then again, you don't feel. It was weird getting used to that. The thing with novocaine is after the game, you're really sore, because the novocaine wears off, whereas the cortisone numbs it for a long period of time. The novocaine numbs it for the two hours I'm out there. After the game, my whole shoulder would be in pain. But that's football. You ice it. You rehab it. It's all about working through those little injuries."

On attending the Fiesta Bowl, where Notre Dame's Quinn fell short in his attempt to overtake Brennan for the national lead in touchdown passes:

"To be honest, I wasn't even thinking about the record during the game, because it was such a sweet game. I love college football. It was so awesome to go to a big game. To watch how others celebrate college football, it was so much fun. It was my first bowl game (since attending) the Rose Bowl a couple of years ago. It was fun to walk around and see people get ready for the game. ... Later on in the game, I was thinking, 'the (Ohio State) defense is stopping Notre Dame. Oh, wait a minute, how many touchdowns has Brady Quinn thrown? I don't think he's thrown any yet.' At the end of the game, I made a mental note that I still had the touchdown lead. I didn't worry too much about it."

On running back Nate Ilaoa, who recently was granted an exemption allowing him to play as a sixth-year senior in the fall:

"That was great news. That was the thing I was probably worried about the most all spring. I know he was definitely worried about it. Nate's had such an up-and-down career here. But, really, I think he's going to be the straw that stirs the drink this year. He's really going to make the difference in making us a great offense. He's a great blocker, but as far as his play-making ability, and his running, and how much the team loves him, I think he's going to have that huge season that's going to make everything right. After all of the injuries and criticisms he's battled, this is going to be his year."

On his custom of buying pizza pies for his offensive linemen after good games:

"We're adding the running backs this year. It's all about weight limits, and (290-pound Reagan Mauia and 240-pound Ilaoa) definitely exceed the weight limit. If I had some skinny running back here, some little juker, I probably wouldn't be interested. I have two big guys back there who can run. They'll be blocking for me a lot. I know my mom is happy knowing they'll be fed and happy."

On his summer schedule:

"I'm taking two summer school classes. For the most part, I get up at 7 in the morning, Monday through Friday. I go lift, and then I'll to school from 9 until 12:45. After that, I'll go out to the field and throw. Sometimes I'll get some rehab, stretch out my lower-back area. Then I'll go to the beach and try to have as much fun on the islands as I can.

"I'll bodysurf. I like to go out and bodysurf at Sandy's. I like the shore break. I like the fact that when you get held under, all you have to do is find the bottom and jump up. I don't like being held under for too long. Back in California, we have a couple of famous shore-break beaches, like the Wedge. I remember going to the Wedge on one of those smaller days. It reminds me of what Sandy's is like."

On what he's thinking about these days:

"The only thing on my mind is (the season opener at) Alabama. I wake up every day and watch one of their tapes. I work out to try to keep everything very simple, very focused, for Sept. 2. That's the only thing I'm thinking about. It's the same way with the rest of the team. You always hear guys saying, 'Man, I can't wait until the Alabama game.' Davone carries around their spring media guide. We have class together every day, and we're always looking at it, reading about one of their guys."

On the pressure Alabama and UH both face:

"It's football. They've got to go out in front of their home crowd of 92,000, and they've got to refurbish their whole defense, and they've got to bring in a new (starting) quarterback. They've got a lot on their plate, no matter who's coming. It could be anybody, let alone the fact we're coming off the year we just had. We know how to lose in front of big crowds. We've done that before. We want to go win one now. We're hungry. We've got everybody back. ... It's warming up to doing something great. It's a matter of working hard and getting there."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.