Former Washington Redskins 6th-round draft pick Colt Brennan was a star in college at the University of Hawaii and brought that hype with him to Washington in 2008. Brennan was a cult sensation during his brief time here, and was the inspiration for the annual Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Awards here at Hogs Haven. Brennan passed away at the way-too-young age of 37 five years ago.

This was started as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to players that fans push to the moon before they play a snap, or after one great performance in the preseason. But it also puts the focus on some of the unheralded players who fans hype up and have a fighter’s chance at making Washington’s roster. Colt Brennan was a great college player that lit up the preseason, but injuries and other issues saw him flame out in the NFL early. RIP Colt and thanks for the inspiration.

The Rules:

1. Player must have been drafted late or signed by the Redskins as an undrafted free agent. Players that have only been on other teams practice squads that are signed by the team are also eligible.

2. A player that has been on the team for several years is still eligible if most of that time has been spent on the practice squad, inactive, or with very limited productivity/time

The Keenan “the Barbarian” Robinson Amendment: only 6th-round draft picks or later for their first two years in the league.

This is the third year of the Adam Peters/Dan Quinn era in Washington, and they are looking for a big rebound from last year’s disappointing 5-12 season. They entered last season with Super Bowl aspirations after getting to the NFC Championship Game in Year 1. Quinn replaced both his coordinators, and Peters worked on fixing the broken defense.

Training camp opened last week, so it’s time for another round of the Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Awards to check in on who’s getting fans excited early. Last season saw Bill Croskey-Merritt turn from preseason hype monster, to winning the Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award four times last season.

Kaytron “Fatman” Allen, RB – 6th round (2026) – Fatman left Penn State as their all-time rushing leader. He’s working on his passing game to earn the starting job that some fans envision him taking in Week 1. When the pads come on this week, expect some highlight clips from practice.

Jaden Bradley, WR – UDFA (2026) – Bradley has been getting hype from coaches, fans, and Terry McLaurin. It doesn’t get much better than that! He’s a big UDFA WR(6’4”, 195 lbs) who has been making plays in camp. He already has one tweet that include the phrase Randy Moss-like which was an instant n0mination for this prestigious award.

Malik Spencer, S – UDFA (2026) – Spencer is a 6’1”, 191 lb UDFA who is trying to make his mark, and earn a spot on the team. A good way to get the coaches attention is making plays during practice, and that’s exactly what the former Michigan State DB did on the second day of camp, picking off fellow rookie Athan Kaliakmanis. Spencer faces an uphill battle for a roster spot, but takeaways are always a positive for players competing for a spot.

Athan Kaliakmanis, QB – 7th round (2026) – Sam Hartman is a team mascot at this point, and the team drafted his replacement on the roster in the 7th round. Athan Kaliakmanis was described as the second most impressive QB on the field on Saturday, leapfrogging Marcus Mariota. The Kaliakmanis should pick up with more practices in front of fans and preseason games starting soon.

Matt Gulbin, OL – 6th round (2026) – Nick Allegretti looked like he was getting the center job by default with only Julian Good-Jones and 6th-round rookie Matt Gulbin as competition. Then he got hurt on the first day of training camp(calf), and hasn’t practiced since. Good-Jones hasn’t been good and the team has been cross training players like Trent Scott and Brandon Coleman instead of bringing in a veteran free agent. Gulbin will also get more opportunity, and this will give him a chance to show coaches whether he’s ready to play at the next level.

Drew Stevens, K – UDFA (2026) – Drew Stevens is in a heated battle with incumbent kicker Jake Moody. The veteran won the day in front of fans for the first time on Saturday, but the two competitors have been back and forth throughout the summer. Stevens is noted to have the bigger leg, and this should be fun to watch once the preseason games start!