Former Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien traveled from his home in North Carolina to State College, Pennsylvania to practice spring football at Penn State and new head coach Bill O’Brien. The second visit was as planned, still recovering from a huge accident a few months ago. O’Brien was seen wearing a Penn State sweatshirt and windbreaker, but said that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that he’s upset had done
On Wednesday afternoon, O’Brien completed his plan and signed with Wisconsin.
For the second straight year, the Wisconsin Badgers have signed a college football free agent quarterback from the ACC. Last year Wisconsin welcomed Russell Wilson into the program, one notable hole in the roster following the departure of Scott Tolzien from co-Big Ten championship Wisconsin and Rose Bowl team of 2010. Meles returned to Pasadena and won the inaugural Big Ten bowl game< /a>.
Now the pressure will be on O’Brien to lead Wisconsin to similar results.
Who is O’Brien getting to Wisconsin?
O’Brien took the ACC by storm in his redshirt freshman season in 2010, passing for 22 touchdowns, eight touchdowns and 2,438 passing yards for a 134.5 quarterback record. O’Brien was named the ACC’s Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers in five ACC Rookie of the Week awards honored in the way of America. O’Brien also established a solid relationship with former Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin, who is now the head coach at Vanderbilt.
Things were a lot different in 2011, with a coaching change and a new offensive system installed with little success. O’Brien also struggled through injury and played nine games last fall, throwing seven touchdowns and being intercepted 10 times.
O’Brien’s red zone production also slipped in 2011 but the question is how much of the unfortunate downward trend should be pinned on O’Brien, and how much should be placed on Randy Edsall and new offensive coordinator Gary Crowton?
Crowton is now offensive coordinator with the Football coordinator with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers fired by Maryland.
When will he be chosen to play?
Immediately
While typical NCAA rules force a game transfer to sit out time at the FBS level, O’Brien will not be bound by those rules. That’s because O’Brien will graduate from Maryland this spring, and while he’s not offered a graduate program by Maryland, he’ll be eligible to play this fall.
What are they doing in the high hopes of Ten Wisconsin?
Wisconsin is already widely considered the champion of the Big Ten Division for 2012, considering the uncertainty with Penn State and Illinois as well as Ohio State’s postseason ban. With O’Brien taking over the quarterback duties, much like Wilson before him, O’Brien will immediately fill the biggest spot on the roster for the Badgers.
Running back back Montee Ball figures to remain the focal point of Wisconsin’s offense, as well as the Heisman favorite, but having O’Brien’s power as a quarterback Bielema and Melis will provide a more reliable option to run the offense than other potential options.
Of which…
Will Wisconsin lose any quarters?
Of course, this remains to be seen, but it is a possibility to be considered. O’Brien will come to Wisconsin with two years of eligibility remaining. If he sticks around as a starter through the end of 2013 that leaves at least some time left for Joe Brennan, a red-shirt sophomore. Also adding to the situation is redshirt junior Jon Budmayr, who is sure to be limited this spring while recovering from an elbow injury.
If either of these players wants to play quarterback in 2012 or 2013 or 2013, a transfer may serve as the best option.
What does Wisconsin mean by transferring consecutive QB recruiting signs?
The only line when it comes to college football recruiting is whether or not the program is going to win football games. Wisconsin proved they can put together a winning season with two straight Big Ten titles and BCS game appearances.
But as for quarterbacks, what exactly is Wisconsin’s concern at that point? This is a fair question to discuss in any aspect of recruiting from Wisconsin.
There are two letters worth examining sent by Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin drafted quarterbacks
- If things don’t go well, Wisconsin will look to bring in another player
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But again, the bottom line wins. right?
