Respect often is distributed in increments, and the University of Hawai'i football team yesterday received a serving when quarterback Colt Brennan was named to the Associated Press' All-America third team.

Brennan, a fourth-year junior from the Orange County, Calif., is the first UH quarterback to be named an AP All-American.

"That's cool," Brennan said. "That's awesome. Considering the year it was in college football, and the big-name guys out there, for me to be recognized up there as an All-American, even third team, that's still a great, great compliment."

Indeed. Third-team members are qualified to carry the "All-America" title.

Jeff Duva was named an AP All-America honorable mention in 1978.

"This team kind of set out to break barriers, to kind of change the perception of UH football," Brennan said.

"Whether it's winning on the road or achieving national notoriety, we fought through a lot this year. I'm glad to see, at the end of the year, we were able to get the notoriety that we deserved."

Although Brennan led the nation in five of the seven significant categories for a quarterback — including touchdown passes (53), passing efficiency (182.8 rating) and total offense (4,990 yards) — he predictably lost to Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, respectively, for berths on the AP's first two teams.

But Dan Morrison, who coaches the UH quarterbacks, said Brennan is deserving of top recognition.

Morrison noted Brennan accomplished the "unheard of" feat of leading the nation in yards and accuracy. It was likened to a basketball player leading in 3-point attempts and field-goal accuracy.

"To throw for just under 5,000 yards and complete more than 70 percent of your passes, that's just unheard of," Morrison said. "Those two categories don't reconcile together. A high efficiency usually goes to someone who doesn't throw very much."

Most telling is Brennan's impact on the Warriors. According to an Advertiser analysis, of the 131 full drives in which Brennan was the quarterback, the Warriors scored 85 times (75 touchdowns, 10 field goals), a scoring efficiency of 64.8 percent. During the Warriors' nine-game winning streak, the scoring efficiency was 75 percent when Brennan was the quarterback.

In comparison, Smith led the Buckeyes to scores on 57 of 119 drives (47.9 percent) and Quinn was 61 of 134 (45.5 percent).

Brennan has taken 743 snaps this season. When he is the quarterback, the Warriors score once every 8.7 plays.

"I wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the country," UH coach June Jones said.

Brennan acknowledged the Warriors are doing more with less.

"We only lost three games, but we lost in dramatic fashion, all in the fourth quarter," Brennan said. "It's OK for Notre Dame to get blasted by a good football team. It's OK for West Virginia to lose to a football team that's 7-4. It's OK for a lot of the good teams out there to lose and still get a lot of respect.

"But for us ... we seem to get a little more disrespect out of those losses," Brennan added. "It's kind of a bummer. Playing in Hawai'i we don't have the money. We don't have nearly the tradition that the schools we're competing against have. Yet we get held to their standard. People need to realize what we've overcome this year to compete at that level, and not just compete, but to win."

Brennan credits Jones' four-wide offense, the players and the coaches.

"It stems from the offensive line and the way we all work together," Brennan said.

"We're doing something no other run-and-shoot offense has done in terms of productivity and efficiency. It shouldn't be discredited. It should be respected."

AP ALL-AMERICA TEAM

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Troy Smith, 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, senior, Ohio State.

Running backs — Darren McFadden, 6-2, 212, sophomore, Arkansas; Steve Slaton, 5-10, 195, sophomore, West Virginia.

Wide receivers — Calvin Johnson, 6-5, 235, junior, Georgia, Tech; Dwayne Jarrett, 6-5, 210, junior, Southern California.

Tight end — Matt Spaeth, 6-7, 265, senior, Minnesota.

Tackles — Jake Long, 6-7, 313, senior, Michigan; Joe Thomas, 6-8, 313, senior, Wisconsin.

Guards — Josh Beekman, 6-2, 318, senior, Boston College; Justin Blalock, 6-4, 335, senior, Texas.

Center — Dan Mozes, 6-4, 290, senior, West Virginia.

Kicker — Justin Medlock, 6-0, 197, senior, UCLA.

All-purpose player — DeSean Jackson, 6-0, 178, sophomore, California.

DEFENSE

Ends — LaMarr Woodley, 6-2, 269, senior, Michigan; Gaines Adams, 6-5, 265, senior, Clemson.

Tackles — Glenn Dorsey, 6-2, 299, junior, LSU; Quinn Pitcock, 6-3, 295, senior, Ohio State.

Linebackers — Paul Posluszny, 6-2, 238, senior, Penn State; Patrick Willis, 6-2, 240, senior, Mississippi; James Laurinaitis, 6-3, 244, sophomore, Ohio State.

Cornerbacks — Leon Hall, 5-11, 193, senior, Michigan; Daymeion Hughes, 6-0, 188, senior, California.

Safeties — LaRon Landry, 6-2, 202, senior, LSU; Reggie Nelson, 6-1, 175, junior, Florida.

Punter — Daniel Sepulveda, 6-3, 230, senior, Baylor.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Brady Quinn, senior, Notre Dame.

Running backs — Ray Rice, sophomore, Rutgers; Mike Hart, junior, Michigan.

Wide receivers — Jarrett Dillard, sophomore, Rice; Jeff Samardzija, senior, Notre Dame.

Tight end — Zach Miller, junior, Arizona State.

Tackles — Sam Baker, junior, Southern California; Arron Sears, senior, Tennessee.

Guards — Ben Grubbs, senior, Auburn; T.J. Downing, senior, Ohio State.

Center — Ryan Kalil, senior, Southern California.

Kicker — Arthur Carmody, junior, Louisville.

All-purpose player — Ted Ginn. Jr., junior, Ohio State.

DEFENSE

Ends — Justin Hickman, senior, UCLA; Mkristo Bruce, senior, Washington State.

Tackles — Alan Branch, junior, Michigan; Amobi Okoye, senior, Louisville.

Linebackers — Dan Connor, junior, Penn State; Ameer Ismail, senior, Western Michigan; David Harris, senior, Michigan.

Cornerbacks — Aaron Ross, senior, Texas; Ryan Smith, senior, Florida.

Safeties — Eric Weddle, senior, Utah; Michael Griffin, senior, Texas.

Punter — Durant Brooks, junior, Georgia Tech.

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Colt Brennan, junior, Hawai'i.

Running backs — Ian Johnson, sophomore, Boise State; Garrett Wolfe, senior, Northern Illinois.

Wide receivers — Robert Meachem, junior, Tennessee; Johnnie Lee Higgins, senior, UTEP.

Tight end — Jonny Harline, senior, BYU.

Tackles — Levi Brown, senior, Penn State; Tony Ugoh, senior, Arkansas.

Guards — Kurt Quarterman, senior, Louisville; Nathan Bennett, senior, Clemson.

Center — Jonathan Luigs, sophomore, Arkansas.

Kicker — Mason Crosby, senior, Colorado.

All-purpose player — Sammie Stroughter, junior, Oregon State.

DEFENSE

Ends — Quentin Moses, senior, Georgia; Anthony Spencer, senior, Purdue.

Tackles — Jay Alford, senior, Penn State; Eric Foster, junior, Rutgers.

Linebackers — H.B. Blades, senior, Pittsburgh; Rufus Alexander, senior, Oklahoma; Brandon Siler, junior, Florida.

Cornerbacks — Dwight Lowery, junior, San Jose State; Brandon Flowers, sophomore, Virginia Tech.

Safeties — Tra Battle, senior, Georgia; Tom Zbikowski, senior, Notre Dame.

Punter — Jeremy Kapinos, senior, Penn State.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.