Head coach Jim Zorn loves to talk about quarterbacks. Whether it's Matt Hasselbeck or Jason Campbell, Zorn is always enthusiastic about watching them grow and monitoring their progress.
Now Zorn has another young quarterback to mentor: newcomer Colt Brennan, the Redskins' sixth-round draft pick out of Hawaii.
Zorn discussed Brennan at length during his post-draft press conference on Sunday night.
Brennan is expected to challenge for the No. 3 quarterback spot on the Redskins' roster, but first he must get healthy after undergoing hip surgery on April 7.
Brennan is expected to be on the practice fields by the start of training camp in July.
His injury recovery was not deterrant in terms of drafting him.
"[The hip surgery] was a little bit of a concern, but not enough for me to pass on him," Zorn said. "He has had the kind of career where he has played a lot. I think he understands what it is going to take to commit to learning [the Redskins' offense].
"Hopefully he will be physically ready to start practicing in training camp and then hopefully solid enough to even participate in the preseason [games] somewhat."
At Hawaii, Brennan excelled in the classic run-and-shoot offense, a pass-happy scheme devised by former Hawaii head coach June Jones. In the run-and-shoot, the quarterback is often in shotgun formation.
Brennan put up prolific numbers at Hawaii. He was a third-team All-American choice as a senior last year, completing 359-of-510 passes--a 70.4 completion percentage--for 4,343 yards, 38 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
His junior season was even better. Brennan completed 406-of-559 passes--a career-high 72.6 completion percentage--for 5,549 yards, 58 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
"The thing I look for in a quarterback is, can he hit what he is throwing at?" Zorn said. "Colt has done that. He has been a 70 percent passer. Whatever level and whatever type of defense you are going against, to throw 70 percent completion there is great accuracy. You can see that in many of the games in the last couple of seasons. You can see his accuracy.
"He has the ability to move around, too. He is a 4.7 runner in the 40. His lateral movement and his ability to get himself in the position to throw the ball after a play breaks down--it's tremendous."
Since February, Zorn has been working on footwork and mechanics with Jason Campbell, Todd Collins and Sam Hollenbach.
He'll have a new student to tutor in Brennan.
Said Zorn: "Supposedly there was some talk that [Brennan] has a bit of a side-arm release, which is true. We will try to bring that up a little bit. If we can, great. It's just little steps to help him become efficient. Hopefully, he will get up to speed that way."
Even though Brennan played in the run-and-shoot offense at Hawaii, Zorn anticipates he will adjust to the West Coast offense quickly.
As a developmental quarterback, Brennan should have plenty of time to learn it.
Accuracy is Brennan's strong suit, Zorn said, and that fits what is required for the West Coast offense.
"When you see [Brennan] throw, the ball is going to come out quick and it is going to be accurate," Zorn said. "I don't know about his ball speed. I'm not as concerned about the ball speed as I am about accuracy.
"What happens is, [quarterbacks] who don't throw hard anticipate [pass routes] better. That's what I will be looking for when I evaluate him."
Brennan is expected to be on hand for the Redskins' three-day mini-camp. He will not participate as he recovers from the hip surgery.
Meantime, he can watch and learn from NFL-ready quarterbacks Campbell and Collins.
