Former Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien, who transferred to Wisconsin following a rocky season under then-first-year Coach Randy Edsall, will search for his third school in three years after leaving the Badgers program this week.
The ACC rookie of the year in 2010, O’Brien has played under three coaches in four seasons, including a redshirt year in 2009. After Ralph Friedgen’s tenure ended in College Park and O’Brien split minutes with C.J. Brown in 2011, he began a hectic transfer process that included restrictions (later lifted) and tampering charges against Vanderbilt, culminating in his much-heralded arrival with the Badgers.
O’Brien, who passed for 4,086 yards and 29 touchdowns in 22 games for the Terps, immediately became Wisconsin’s opening-week starter but was quickly relegated into backup duties thanks to turnover issues. He played seven games, starting three and passing for 523 yards and three touchdowns. This spring, Wisconsin dropped him to fourth on its quarterback depth chart, and according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, he could have been fifth this fall.
Now, O’Brien is on the move again.
The Baltimore Sun, who spoke with O’Brien about his decision, speculated about a possible return to the Baltimore-Washington area, though O’Brien offered a no-comment on specific destinations:
O’Brien and his family love the Baltimore-Washington area, and he could be interested in returning — meaning Towson is a possibility. He was popular at Maryland and did a summer internship in marketing at Baltimore-based Under Armour.While with the Terps for three seasons, O’Brien worked closely with Tyler Bowen, a former Maryland offensive lineman who became a Terps graduate assistant and is now a Towson assistant.
O’Brien told The Sun he “absolutely” holds NFL aspirations.