June Jones knew he had a jewel.

With the career of a high-profile local quarterback winding down, Jones remembers former UH athletic director Paul Durham asking him, "What are you going to do next year after Timmy Chang?"

Jones didn't need words to explain, just visuals. He popped in a videotape, and both watched Colt Brennan in action while at Saddleback Junior College.

"Don't breathe a word of who that guy is. I don't want anybody to know," Jones told Durham.

Soon all of Hawai'i would know.

"I knew he was special the first time I saw him throw," Jones said then.

Hawai'i would eventually find out how special.

In his first year at UH in 2005, Brennan led the nation in passing and touchdown throws.

In his second year, he set the NCAA record for touchdown passes in a season with 58.

In his third year, he played the lead role in a storybook season in which he led the Warriors to a 12-0 regular-season record and a berth in the Sugar Bowl while finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting.

But it was what he did prior to his third season that would endear him to Hawai'i fans forever and make him one of the most recognizable and beloved sports figures in Hawai'i.

In an emotional news conference broadcast live across the state, Brennan announced he would return to UH instead of entering the NFL draft, where some projected him to be a second-round pick.

"The second I made that decision," Brennan said, "my time became Hawai'i's time. Everything I did, I did for Hawai'i."

Brennan would pay the price with his time and stomach.

He would sign autographs for an hour after practice and often miss out on his training table meals. He would also sign autographs outside his classes.

"I always felt the NFL would always be there," Brennan said. "I wanted to come back so I could do something great with my teammates, do something awesome. I wanted to do it for my teammates, and my school, and the state. If you do it for someone else, it's always more rewarding."

Despite a bittersweet end where he failed to throw a touchdown pass and took a physical beating by the Georgia rush in a 41-10 loss in the Sugar Bowl, Brennan would leave UH having broken or tied 31 NCAA records, including career touchdown passes (131), single-season touchdown passes (58) and most touchdowns responsible for in a career (146).

"Just the experience alone," Brennan said. "I have friends like Matt Leinart, who went to SC. I would never trade what he had and the career he had for what I had here in Hawai'i in a million years."