When quarterback Colt Brennan chose to return to the University of Hawai'i, postponing the big-bucks leap to the NFL, he offered an interesting insight.

"I like the person I'm becoming in Hawai'i," Brennan said then.

Going on four months later, we like the person he's becoming, too, and Brennan's willingness to speak out forcefully on the state of facilities at UH recently is another reason why.

Stand-up, confident, Brennan has grown into the role of a leader, in the huddle and beyond.

And, no, being the Warriors' quarterback and the leader aren't always mutually inclusive. There have been quarterbacks that UH players respected for the position they held on the field but wouldn't otherwise follow across the street for shave ice on a hot day.

But Brennan is becoming a well-rounded package, both in leading UH to an 11-3 season and in off-the-field actions. Whether it be patiently signing autographs or talking candidly with youngsters about some hard-learned lessons of his own past, Brennan has been forthright.

His comments on the sad state of UH facilities and the athletic program to The Advertiser's Stephen Tsai, coming after much thought, largely reflect that. He's held his tongue for months now and could have easily buttoned his lips until he departed for the NFL. Few would have blamed him. Indeed, the trend among athletes with far higher profiles is to protect the investment in themselves.

But Brennan was looking out for more than himself, which is something real leaders do. He was concerned about fellow athletes and students, not just football players. People who have many more years at UH and those who will follow. He cares about the program and the school he will leave behind.

The truth of his words resound beyond the athletic department, where missing soap is but a symbol of larger, campus-wide problems. There is a lot of Manoa that was neglected in the cash-strapped 1990s. Places that received limited care and where upgrades are still well down the priority funding line.

Professors and others have been lamenting this for years. Most coaches would like to do so, too, but have clauses in their contracts putting them on notice for "negative statement concerning the athletics department, (UH) and the State made to the media ..."

But Brennan has both a forum and a willingness to use it for more than just his own benefit.

Besides, what was anybody going to do, wash his mouth out with soap?

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.