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Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Awards: Who has the most hype in early June?

· Yahoo Sports

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 four years ago.

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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.

(*Editor’s note: The text from the below description is word-for-word from the original fanpost that started this award in 2013)

Every season, a new class of draft picks and undrafted free agents are signed during the preseason. The majority of these players will never be on the roster for a regular season game, but the few diamond in the rough late round/UDFA players who do bring hope to players and fans. That racetrack betting slip that you find on the floor that someone didn’t scout properly.

Redskins fans are very familiar with the hype that comes with the offseason, especially over the last two decades of dreary seasons. Between the overpriced free agent signings, and the overhyped preseason performances by rookies, we were the perennial offseason champions. Names like Marko Mitchell, Marcus Mason, Brandon Banks, and everyone’s favorite Colt Brennan became legendary in training camp and preseason, only to be relegated to the practice squad or the bowels of the depth chart, never to be heard from again. Last year’s preseason hero was Alfred Morris who rose up due to injury and necessity after being deemed a practice squad candidate by many, and we all know how that turned out.

Hype is a very real, and very exciting part of football in the preseason. We all read the daily training camp reports and get excited at the prospect of a late round pass rusher getting sack after sack on 3rd string offensive lineman, or a wide receiver catching everything thrown his way, or a running back who’s not injured.

The Mason/Brennan award has been given out unofficially by the fans for years to each preseason’s most hyped players, but now we’re going to make it official, and bring it to a vote. This week’s vote will cover the draft and training camp. Place your vote for who you feel has been the most hyped player up to this point, whether the hype is deserved or not. After each preseason game a new vote will be taken to see how the hype changes.

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.

We’re starting off this preseason award a little early and getting a hype check during OTAs. MattInBrisVegas gave us a few previews for the Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Awards last month, and we’ve got some good candidates to vote on this week. Last season saw Bill Croskey-Merritt turn from preseason hype monster, to winning the Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award four times last season.

The Nominees:

Kaytron “Fatman” Allen, RB – 6th round (2026) – Is Fatman this year’s Bill? Can another late-round RB capture the excitement of Washington fans, and actually contribute significantly during the season? That’s what we’re going to find out from Allen who left Penn State as their all-time rushing leader.

Robert Henry Jr., RB – UDFA (2026) – Henry doesn’t have the hype of Fatman coming into the offseason, but he’s the kind of back that will have one or two nice runs in preseason and get highlight reels from camp.

Chris Hilton Jr., WR – UDFA (2026) – Hilton was signed after the draft and he’s familiar with Jayden Daniels from their two years together at LSU. Injuries were an issue in college, will he stay healthy and earn a spot on te team?

Athan Kaliakmanis, QB – 7th round (2026) – Sam Hartman had this spot last year, but he’s been languishing on the practice squad for two seasons, and is destined to be a shampoo spokesperson. Kaliakmanis has forced everyone to learn how to spell his name, and looks like he’ll be QB3 this season.

Matt Gulbin, OL – 6th round (2026) – The need to replace Tyler Biadasz after he was released has put the center position front and center for a lot of fans. Matt Gulbin was taken late in the draft, and there will be a big push for him to get a shot at the position with Nick Alkegretti looking like the starter by default for now.

Drew Stevens, K – UDFA (2026) – The fact that this is the first kicker to be nominated for the Mason/Brennan Preseason Hype! Award says a lot about the amount of competition that has been brought in during the offseason over the last decade plus this award has been running. Drew Stevens was initially going to be a rookie mini-camp invite, but interest from two other teams prompted Adam Peters to sign him to the 91-man roster to compete with last year’s kicker, Jake Moody.

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