More recently, he was charged with disorderly conduct in November 2020 and arrested for trespassing in August 2020, during which police described him as “heavily intoxicated,” according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Colt was additionally charged with filing a false report in 2015 and arrested for driving under the influence in 2019, per the AP.

Despite his challenges, Colt recalled in his Instagram letter, “I captured every dream I had as a child. I was drafted into the league only to have 2 knee and 2 hip surgeries. I reached my 3rd year in the NFL, only to awake from a coma with traumatic brain injury as a passenger in a car accident.”

Colt said he “battled drug and alcohol abuse” and eventually developed blood clots years after the car accident. He explained that he was in the hospital for nine months and spend the past two and a half years “trying to learn how to walk again with a broken heart.” The athlete wrote, “I found redemption once, I will find it again.”

Former Rainbow Warrior coach June Jones said in a statement after his death, “It’s just a sad day for all of Hawai‘i. Colt was clearly the star of our program and what he did after the 2006 season by staying in school, said a lot about him and how he cared much more about Hawai‘i and his teammates. That’s something that doesn’t happen anymore.” 

UH assistant coach Rich Miano said Colt was one of the most “impactful” players, both on and off the field, that he’s ever seen. “He took this program to a place that it’s never been,” the mentor shared. “Colt was the impetus of the greatest days in University of Hawai‘i history.”

He is remembered for his “unforgettable” 12–0 regular-season in 2007, per the university.