ASHBURN, Va. — The Hawai'i contingent, resplendent in green and black, stood out among a sea of burgundy and gold at Redskins Park yesterday morning. Pressed up against the fence that separated fans from the field, the group of about 10 was eager to watch Colt Brennan go through his first practice of training camp as a Washington Redskin.

Lori Obispo, who is from Mililani but now lives in Potomac Falls, Va., was the only one not wearing green and black. Instead, she had on a No. 5 Redskins jersey with Brennan's name on the back as well as his autograph signed in black marker. Obispo came with husband Rudy, who wore a University of Hawai'i athletics department T-shirt.

The Heisman Trophy finalist stopped by to chat with them and several others of the estimated 6,100 fans who took in the practice.

"That was a great experience to see them," Brennan said. "I was really surprised (by the size of the crowd). I knew there would be a lot of fans, but it's kind of amazing. We were doing routes — there's no defense — you complete a pass, and the place goes crazy."

Following hip surgery in April, Brennan had been limited in the offseason practices leading up to training camp. Now that he has been given full clearance from the doctors, the quarterback was eager to show what he could do.

"Today for the first time I was really pushing it, and my hip was holding up fine," Brennan said. "Everything felt really good."

During one seven-on-seven drill, head coach Jim Zorn pulled Brennan aside for a one-on-one teaching moment.

"He's very awkward just because everything is new to him, dropping back in a disciplined manner, getting the ball, being efficient with his feet and how to hand the ball off, even reaching underneath the center, being quiet underneath the center," said Zorn, who was the Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach before taking the Redskins job earlier this year. "He's learning right now, and I'd say he's got a long way to go, but I like what I see."

Zorn seems particularly concerned about Brennan's footwork.

"In a disciplined system like this, especially with Coach Zorn, he wants the steps to be exact," backup quarterback Todd Collins said. "Everyone is different, but he wants everyone's technique to look the same. ... (Brennan's) footwork and his release is a little bit unorthodox, but that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Having played almost exclusively out of the shotgun in college, Brennan is adjusting to being under center. His hip injury also led to some bad habits that he's trying to correct.

"What (Zorn has his quarterbacks do) under center is a lot different than the generic under center," Brennan said. "I grew up my whole life running under center and I thought it would be like just jump back into it, and I come to find out we run things a little bit different than everybody else. It's definitely a learning process."

Wide receiver Burl Toler has been impressed with Brennan's arm strength, but said the rookie still has a lot to learn.

"Guys joke with him in the huddle because sometimes he calls the wrong formation, but for the most part he's doing a great job," Toler said.

Brennan seems to be adjusting well to his new team. He's even gotten a nickname from his teammates, who are calling him "McGarrett" after the Jack Lord character in "Hawaii Five-0."