Sports in Stilettos

Will he stay or will he go?

Earlier today, reports from a “source” said Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien met with Coach Randy Edsall to inform the coach he was transferring.

O’Brien quickly responded via his Twitter page, saying he’s still a Terp.

…But for how long?

A little over a year ago, after former Terps coach Ralph Friedgen was unceremoniously fired by the university, I wondered whether O’Brien would also hit the road. When I tweeted the news he was staying, he replied, saying that was always the plan.

I doubt that the rest of the season went as planned, though. A year after picking up ACC Rookie of the Year honors, O’Brien was forced into a game of musical quarterback with C.J. Brown. First they switched in and out, then just when it looked like O’Brien was relegated to permanent backup status, he was back in, at least until his season ended with a broken arm.

When he did play, he didn’t play nearly as well as he had as a true freshman - but he was also playing in a different scheme, under a different coaching staff. As a local reporter said on the radio early in the season, Danny O’Brien didn’t regress that much in a year’s time. What did change? The coaching staff.

It seemed pretty clear, pretty early on, that O’Brien wasn’t going to be too successful within former OC Gary Crowton’s offense, so as much as I adore #5, I hoped he’d transfer. He’s a very, very talented quarterback, and he should have the opportunity to play for a program that’s going to give him the very best chance to succeed, in college and possible even in the pros. It was beyond frustrating to see him wasted in Maryland’s offense in 2011; I can’t even begin to imagine how it felt for him.

Crowton’s not calling the plays this year, though. Instead, O’Brien would be working with Mike Locksley, who returned to College Park in the offseason after stints at Illinois, Florida and most recently (and controversially), New Mexico. I’m don’t know much about Locksley’s play-calling style, but if it’s drastically different than what we had in 2011, I’m on board. (Not that it matters, since I’m not the one playing.)

The big question, reportedly to be decided this weekend, is whether Danny O’Brien is on board.

At any point during last season, I would’ve said O’Brien should absolutely jump ship, but now, I’m less certain. I think he’ll have a better shot at a good year in 2012, but I don’t know if it will be a better situation than he’d find elsewhere. He is eligible to graduate this spring, and if he does, he’d be able to transfer to another FBS school without sitting out a year.

So will he stay or will he go?

I assume we’ll find out very soon.

Should he stay or should he go?

I’m not sure anymore.

As cliched as it is, I just hope he does the best thing for himself and his future, whether or not that’s at Maryland. He deserves it.

“

My media colleagues seem to be split in their opinions of Maryland football coach Randy Edsall. One camp thinks Edsall is a self-serving, hypocritical turd. The other camp thinks he is a shameless, ruthless disgrace to his profession.

—

I don’t like reading about Randy Edsall and Maryland. Even thinking about Randy Edsall and Maryland makes me angry, and I don’t like being angry, so I try to avoid the subject all together.

But when Michael Rosenberg opens a column like that, there’s no way I’m missing it.

It didn’t disappoint, and all the situations and arguments he presents in the middle make a pretty solid case that, as Rosenberg says, “The University of Maryland should be better than the people who have been hired to run it.“

It’s a strong statement but, unfortunately, not a uncommon one among many Maryland fans I know.

Maryland’s handling of Danny O’Brien case shows NCAA hypocrisy - Michael Rosenberg - SI.com

Awesome take on the Danny O’Brien transfer decision.

The former (sniff) Terp quarterback will play his final two years of college football at Wisconsin, marking the second year in a row that a former top ACC QB gets a shot at a fresh start in the Midwest.

Last year, it was Russell Wilson, who didn’t want to choose between professional baseball and college football in time for training camp with NC State. The Wolfpack said “Peace out, yo” and Wilson said, “Fine, I will” and went to Madison and led the Badgers to an 11-3 season and a Rose Bowl berth.

NC State, in case you were wondering, went 8-5 and beat Louisville in the Belk Bowl, but I’ll go out on a limb and say losing the Rose Bowl is still better than winning the Belk Bowl. In other words, good move, Russell.

Unfortunately for the Badgers, Wilson only had one remaining year of eligibility. He temporarily solved their quarterback problems, but after he graduated, Wisconsin still didn’t have a QB with significant game experience - and as of this spring, the ones they have aren’t even healthy.

Jon Budmayr is visiting the Mayo Clinic this week for some nerve issues in his shoulder that have been causing elbow pain (if you’re thinking that doesn’t sound good, you’re probably right), and senior Curt Phillips is still working his way back from his third ACL surgery.

Clearly, the Badgers desperately needed a quarterback. And O’Brien fans like myself, who watched him suffer a major setback with the arrival of Randy Edsall in College Park, knew O’Brien desperately needed a new opportunity elsewhere.

And so he’ll go to Madison and hope it’ll be deja vu all over again, with another former ACC quarterback heading to Wisconsin for ~~grad school~~ a chance to cap off his college career with a winning program. Unlike Wilson, O’Brien will have two years of eligibility as a Badger, giving him time to repair his draft stock after a shaky sophomore year.

It’ll also buy Wisconsin some time to find and develop a quarterback of their own to take over in 2014 - although if O’Brien works out for them, they may just want to stick to their strategy of poaching experienced players from other programs.

Danny O'Brien may not do for 2012 Badgers what Russell Wilson did in 2011 (Link) »

Not everyone thinks Danny O’Brien will be able to follow in Russell Wilson’s footsteps at Wisconsin next season.

CBSSports.com blogger Jerry Hinnen says the lack of experience O’Brien will have around him on offense, the turnover at offensive coordinator, O’Brien’s own regression in 2011, and the fact that O’Brien is not Wilson (read: not as good as Wilson) will keep him from being the savior Wilson was last season.

Way to rain on everyone’s parade, Jerry. Did Edsall send you?

Just kidding. Dude makes some good points. The team O’Brien will be joining isn’t the same team Wilson had around him. And O’Brien isn’t Wilson (duh?)

But I’m a total O’Brien apologist (unless he massively screws it up in Madison - then he’s on his own) so I have a few quibbles with the following argument:

One key difference, however, is that O’Brien’s comedown was far more substantial than Wilson’s. While the arrival of Randy Edsall and Gary Crowton’s arrival no doubt had plenty to do with it, O’Brien’s regression was an ill omen no matter how you slice it: from a 22-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio to 7-to-10, from 7.2 yards an attempt to 6.2, from a 134.5 QB rating to 109.6.

I have said it before and I’ll continue to say it: I place 98% of the blame for these numbers squarely on the shoulders of Edsall and Crowton.

No, they weren’t the ones on the field, but they were the ones playing mind games and trying to force a quarterback with a certain skill set into an offense that wasn’t really working for him (or, um, the rest of the team in general. Heyyyy 2-10).

Perhaps O’Brien would’ve had some growing pains and a “comedown” if Friedgen had be retained, but you don’t work hard, stay in shape, continue to practice and study the game and somehow go from ACC Rookie of the Year to benchwarmer. I’m sorry, you just don’t. It’s not like he got hit by the untalented fairy in his sleep last offseason; if anything, it was the ‘My Way or the Highway’ fairy and his name was Randy Edsall.

So highway it is, and good for him. Maybe when he gets consistent playing time again, he’ll be able to prove to Hinnen, Edsall, and the rest of the nay-sayers that he really is as good as previously advertised, and that 2011 was one bad season, for Maryland and for him.

Unfortunately for Maryland, the school was not granted a release, conditional or otherwise, and will therefore be stuck with Edsall for the immediate future.

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