Mountain West Football

Former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan, who set 31 NCAA records during his time at the school, died Monday.

He was 37.

Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser confirmed Brennan's death with his family. His father, Terry Brennan, said he was found unconscious at a rehabilitation center last week. He was in the fifth month of an in-patient rehabilitation program.

“He was doing so well, the spark was back in his eyes, and he was healthy and doing great, and it happened,” Terry Brennan said. "He had been doing really (well). These guys were no-nonsense guys. It just got away from him. I don’t know how else to explain it. Maybe one day I’ll be able to explain it better.”

Brennan, who served as Matt Leinart's backup at California's famed Mater Dei High School, attended the University of Colorado and Saddleback College before becoming one of the most iconic athletes in Hawaii history. Flourishing in June Jones' wide-open aerial attack, Brennan shattered nearly every Hawaii school record and set numerous NCAA marks for passing efficiency.

He threw for 5,549 yards and an NCAA-record 58 touchdowns in 2006, a record that stood for more than a decade before being broken by Joe Burrow in 2019. A year later, Brennan finished third behind Tim Tebow and Darren McFadden in the Heisman voting.

Brennan was also beloved at Hawaii for helping the school gain national attention and embracing the island culture. He dyed the islands into his hair and led the team to a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2007.

The now-Washington Football Team selected Brennan in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He lasted two seasons before being released in 2010 after suffering a season-ending hip injury the year prior. After a brief preseason stint with the Raiders, Brennan was released and didn't sign with an NFL team again. He never threw a pass in a regular-season game.

Following his football career, Brennan had several run-ins with the law that were alcohol-related. He was arrested twice for driving under the influence and was charged with trespassing while being "heavily intoxicated" after refusing to leave a hotel in Hawaii.

Terry Brennan said his son died surrounded by family and listening to Bob Marley.

High school football player Tony Evans Jr. was fatally shot early Sunday morning in the Stemmons Corridor, Dallas, according to Kelli Smith of the Dallas Morning News.

The 17-year-old receiver from Lancaster, Texas, had committed to play football at Wyoming next season, per Sam Marsdale of 247 Sports.

Police said Evans and another person were shot at about 1:30 a.m. in a room at the Hawthorn Suites hotel. Both of them were taken to a hospital, where Evans was pronounced dead. The other victim is reportedly in stable condition.

Police currently do not have a suspect in the case.

Evans was considered a 3-star recruit and No. 179 athlete in the 2021 class, per 247 Sports composite rankings. He finished last season with 13 catches for 268 yards and four touchdowns as a senior for Lancaster High School.

Boise State has reportedly found its next head football coach. 

First reported by B.J. Rains of the Idaho Press and confirmed by ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, the Broncos will hire Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos to replace Bryan Harsin. 

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and The Athletic reported Avalos will receive a five-year contract. 

Rains noted the school is expected to officially announce Avalos' hiring on Friday night. 

New Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey tweeted to Broncos fans on Friday afternoon that he has "been working to bring you the next great (Broncos) head coach!"

Dickey ended the post with "coming soon..." and the eye emoji. 

Boise State found itself in the market for a new head coach after Harsin was hired by Auburn on Dec. 22. The Idaho native went 69-19 in seven seasons with the program. 

Avalos will be returning to his alma mater as head coach when the hiring becomes official. He played linebacker for four seasons at Boise State from 2001-05. 

Since graduating from college, Avalos has worked his way up the coaching ranks. The 39-year-old began his career as a graduate assistant at Colorado from 2006-08. He was an assistant at Boise State from 2012-18 for Chris Petersen and Harsin. 

Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal hired Avalos as his defensive coordinator in February 2019. The Ducks ranked ninth in the nation in scoring defense (16.5 points allowed per game) in Avalos' first season.

Nevada head coach Jay Norvell had to watch Ohio head coach Frank Solich land on the receiving end of a french fry bath when his team fell on the losing side of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl last season, but it was his turn to celebrate after the Wolf Pack defeated Tulane 38-27 on Tuesday.

Quarterback Carson Strong, a redshirt sophomore, didn't waste any time in showing up against Tulane. He completed three first-half touchdown passes to help give the Wolf Pack a 26-7 lead at the break.

Tulane staged a third-quarter comeback, scoring 13 points, but it was too late for the Green Wave, who struggled from the start without multiple top players. The team traveled to Boise without Patrick Johnson, who is the school's all-time leader in sacks and an American Athletic Conference first-teamer, after he attended the funeral of his father last week.

On offense, leading receiver Duece Watts did not play.

Tulane found its first points on a 41-yard pass from Michael Pratt to Jha'Quan Jackson. But just as quickly as Tulane got itself back in play, Toa Taua found the end zone with a 50-yard run on fourth down for his second score of the game.

Pratt couldn't get out of his own way for the rest of the first half, tossing his second interception of the day to end what had been Tulane's best drive of the game. Before the pick, which came with 3:29 left to play in the half, the Green Wave offense traveled 69 yards and ate 4:15 off the clock.

The second half, however, presented a turnaround. Pratt redeemed himself with a six-yard rush that cut Nevada's lead in half at the start of the third quarter.

Jackson scored again to help diminish the lead to just six, but Pratt, after throwing three interceptions compared to five all season, couldn't bring the Green Wave back for the victory as a 12-point fourth for Nevada sealed the deal.

Notable Performers

• Carson Strong, QB, Nevada: 22-of-28 passing, 271 yards, five TDs
• Toa Taua, RB, Nevada: 20 carries, 102 yards, TD; six receptions, 77 yards, TD
• Jha'Quan Jackson, WR, Tulane: two receptions, 69 yards, two TDs
• Michael Pratt, QB, Tulane: 168 passing yards (12-of-25, two TDs, three INTs), 25 rushing yards (18 carries, TD)

Carson's Strong Season

Strong led the Mountain West Conference with 2,587 yards and 22 touchdown passes during the regular season, topping a redshirt freshman campaign where he started in 10 games and threw for 2,335 yards and 11 touchdowns with a 63.4 completion percentage.

His last outing in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was also strong, when he threw for 402 yards with 31 completions, which were school bowl game records. That career-best stat line was a sign of things to come this season. In the season-opener against Wyoming, he threw for 420 yards.

Though he redshirted as a freshman in 2018, the California native was the foundation of a group that ushered in the current era of Nevada football under Norvell. He was the first player in that recruiting class to commit to the Wolf Pack, making his debut the same year that Nevada had 10 players selected for postseason awards amid an eight-win season.

The quarterback's consistency from 2019 through this season is a reassuring sign, and the Wolf Pack should be in good hands again with Strong returning next season.

Michael Pratt's Unexpected Arrival

Pratt, a true freshman and former 3-star recruit, was behind redshirt senior and former Southern Mississippi signal-caller Keon Howard on the depth chart. But after Howard's slow start to the season, Pratt got the call, and he ended the season with 18 touchdown passes, leading all true freshmen on FBS teams.

Most of Tulane's offense has come from rushing this season, with 2,408 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground compared to 1,952 and 19 touchdowns through the air, but Pratt is a reliable passer and could turn that Green Wave offense into a dual-threat force in the coming seasons as he matures and adjusts to the collegiate game.

Recruit rankings and info via 247Sports.

Utah State football team players have opted out of their regular-season finale Saturday against Colorado State, citing alleged comments from university president Noelle Cockett regarding interim head coach Frank Maile's religious and cultural background.

The team issued a statement to Brett McMurphy of Stadium that began as follows:

"The Utah State football players have decided to opt out of our game against Colorado State due to ongoing inequality and prejudicial issues between the players, coaches, and the USU administration.

"On Tuesday, December 8th, the Utah State University Football Leadership Council held a zoom meeting with Noelle Cockett, President of USU, and John Hartwell, the Athletic Director. The purpose of the meeting was to have a say in the search for our new head coach. During the meeting, we voiced our support for Interim Head Coach Frank Maile.

"In response to our comments, their primary concern was his religious and cultural background. Players, stating their diverse faiths and backgrounds, then jumped to Coach Frank Maile’s defense in treating everyone with love, equality, and fairness."

USU interim head coach Frank Maile took over for Gary Anderson, who was fired after an 0-3 start. Maile has won one of his three games.

The 38-year-old Maile, who is Polynesian, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a defensive lineman at Utah State from 2004-2007 and worked as the team's co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2020 before his promotion.

Maile will not be the team's new head coach, as Utah State has reportedly reached an agreement with Arkansas State's Blake Anderson, per Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press.

The team's statement to McMurphy also included allegations of "repeated discrimination" within the USU program:

"It is not the first time issues of repeated discrimination have happened. In December 2019, our head equipment manager used a racial slur against one of our African-American teammates. After disregarding the incident, pressure resurfaced to investigate in the summer of 2020. After the investigation, the administration concluded he would continue to be employed."

Per Jason Walker of the Utah Statesman, Maizee Thompson, whose partner is ex-Utah State defensive lineman Devon Anderson, levied the following allegation against Michael Bair, the athletic director for equipment operations, in July:

The statement closed with support for the new head coach and a desire for a better and more inclusive community at USU and Logan, Utah, where the school is located:

"We want our message to be clear that this has nothing to do with the hiring of Coach Blake Anderson, the recently-named head coach of the program. We are sure he is an excellent coach; we look forward to meeting him and his staff. We are highlighting the ongoing problems of inequality and want to create a better future for the community of Logan and Utah State University."

McMurphy also outlined the team's thought process and decision-making leading to its call to sit out Saturday's scheduled game:

"The team’s leadership council raised issues about Cockett’s comments regarding Maile, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The players were so 'dumbfounded' by Cockett’s comments that a player conducted an anonymous players-only survey asking the players if they were on the zoom call and whether they were concerned about anything they heard in the meeting."

McMurphy reported that "about three-fourths of the team" that issued a response by Thursday expressed concerns regarding the alleged bias against Maile. The players notably responded on an individual basis.

USU players "unanimously voted" to sit the season's closing game following a players-only meeting. The coaching staff was made aware afterward.

UNLV quarterback Max Gilliam issued an apology on Twitter after he was shown at a dinner where sushi was presented on a nude model for the Bravo reality series Below Deck.

"I would like to apologize for my poor judgement while on the TV show Below Deck and acknowledge that I have made a mistake that I will learn from. While it was not my idea nor any of my friends ideas to eat sushi off a model, I should have exercised better judgement and declined the idea immediately when it was brought up by the producers."

The Las Vegas Review-Journal's Adam Hill provided some more context regarding Gilliam's involvement on the show, which focuses on the members of a crew aboard a yacht and their interactions with people who charter the vessel:

"[Gilliam] appeared with his childhood best friend, Dax Nittolo, another friend identified on the show only as Luke, and their three girlfriends. They chartered the boat out of Jolly Harbour, Antigua.

"Dinner on the first night was the highlight of the episode. A world-class chef describes with painstaking detail her sushi preparation but expresses frustration her efforts may have been wasted on a group that seems far more infatuated with how it was served.

"They had requested the sushi to be laid out on a nude model, who had to be picked up from shore and adorned in large leafs before rice and raw fish were placed over her."

Per ESPN Las Vegas' Tyler Bischoff, UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo said the school wasn't aware of what unfolded on the show until recently and that officials are "reviewing the matter internally." Citing local media reports, Hill noted the show was filmed in February and March, so Gilliam didn't run afoul of any COVID-19 protocols.

Hill wrote it doesn't appear Gilliam committed any NCAA violations, even though he was identified as the "star quarterback at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas."

The Thousand Oaks, California, native transferred to UNLV in 2018 after attending junior college at Saddleback College. He made 11 appearances during the 2018 season but didn't get on the field last year.

Through five games, Gilliam has thrown for 599 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions in 2020. The winless Rebels have their final game Saturday on the road against Hawaii.

The University of New Mexico is spending nearly $70,000 per week to play its football games in Las Vegas amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, New Mexico athletic director Eddie Nunez said he is willing to pay that amount of money to have the team play games because it will result in a large payout down the road in distributions from the Mountain West Conference and the College Football Playoff.

"If I'm going to spend $300,000 to put our team in Las Vegas, but I know that at the end of the day, I'm going to get $3.7 million or zero [to not play at all], I think I'd go for 3.7," he said. "To give our kids a chance to play with the circumstances we were dealing with [in the state of New Mexico], it was the right decision."

The eight-game conference-only schedule for Mountain West teams began Oct. 24, but the Lobos found themselves in a bind. Their opening game against Colorado State was canceled because of a spike in COVID-19 cases in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.

Nunez announced Oct. 30 that the football team was moving its operations to Las Vegas, where it will play games at Sam Boyd Stadium, home of fellow Mountain West program UNLV. He told Auerbach the $70,000 being spent each week is used to keep "about 140 people tied to the New Mexico football program living out of the Hilton right now."

The student-athletes are able to attend their classes virtually, but Auerbach noted doing so requires them to wake up an hour earlier because of the time difference between Albuquerque and Las Vegas.

The Lobos have played their first two games of the season on the road against San Jose State and Hawaii. Saturday's contest against Nevada will mark their first game in their adopted home for the 2020 season.

Colin Kaepernick is a Hall of Famer. 

On Friday, the University of Nevada announced its 2020 athletics Hall of Fame inductees, and Kaepernick highlighted a group that included three football players, two men's basketball players and one women's basketball player. 

Here is a look at the entire list:

• Luke Babbitt: Men's Basketball (2008-10)
• Dellena Criner: Women's Basketball (2005-09)
• Armon Johnson: Men's Basketball (2007-10)
• Colin Kaepernick: Football (2006-10)
• Dontay Moch: Football (2006-10)
• Vai Taua: Football (2006-10)

"The 2020 Hall of Fame class represents some of the best of the best in Wolf Pack history," athletic director Doug Knuth said. "This is an incredible collection of accomplished student-athletes and we can't wait for the opportunity to welcome them back to campus and celebrate their careers."

The announcement explained there will not be a traditional induction dinner during the fall because of COVID-19 restrictions, but the plan is to celebrate the class when it is safe.

Kaepernick was the star of Nevada's so-called 2010 "Dream Team" that went 13-1 with victories over Cal, BYU, Utah State, Fresno State and Boise State before it defeated Boston College in the Fight Hunger Bowl. 

The win over Boise State was particularly notable, as Kaepernick threw for 259 yards, ran for 45 and accounted for two touchdowns in the 34-31 overtime win over the Broncos, who were No. 3 in the country at the time.

Kaepernick finished in eighth place in Heisman Trophy voting that year after racking up 3,022 passing yards, 1,206 rushing yards and 41 total touchdowns. He won the WAC Offensive Player of the Year, which he also took home in 2008.

In all, Kaepernick finished his illustrious collegiate career with 10,098 passing yards, 4,112 rushing yards and 142 total touchdowns.

The San Francisco 49ers selected him with a second-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft, and he eventually led them to the Super Bowl and NFC Championship Game in back-to-back years during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

While Kaepernick, who made headlines for protesting systemic racism and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem as a player, is just 32 years old and threw for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2016, no NFL team has signed him since he opted out of his contract following that campaign.

Hawaii football head coach Todd Graham had 17 championship rings stolen in Tempe, Arizona, per comments his wife Penni made to TMZ Sports on Thursday.

Per Penni Graham, the couple is currently moving from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Hawaii. The ex-Arizona State coach gave the rings "to a close friend to help move the jewelry out to Honolulu."

However, someone stole the rings out of that friend's car early Tuesday afternoon a few blocks off the campus of Arizona State, where Graham coached from 2012-2017.

"So much went into earning those rings, especially his National Championship ring, as a coach in 1992," Penni Graham said. "Seventeen rings from years of blood, sweat and tears. He is devastated."

Graham was a defensive coordinator for East Central University from 1991-1993. ECU won the NAIA national championship during his final season.

The 55-year-old has been a head coach at Rice, Tulsa, Pitt, Arizona State and now Hawaii, amassing a 95-61 record along the way.

His teams have reached 10 bowl games, winning five.

Graham also piloted the 2010 Tulsa Golden Hurricane and 2013 and 2014 ASU teams to Top 25 Associated Press poll finishes with a high of No. 12 in 2014.

Graham and ASU parted ways in 2017, and he agreed to coach Hawaii in January of this year.