Daniel Oquendo, Jr. (; born July 8, 1987) is a former American college

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He was a wide receiver for the Maryland Terrapins of the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. After the death of his

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

half-brother, Avonte Oquendo, in October 2013 in an incident which gained national headlines, Danny has determined to study law.

Early years

Oquendo was born in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

, to Daniel Oquendo, Sr., and Ana Garcia. He attended

Hackensack High School Hackensack High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Hackensack Public Schools. Hackensack High School serves students from the Bergen County, New Jer ...

where he was a three-year starter as a wide receiver and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. As a junior, he led the team in tackles and returned two punts and a kick for touchdowns. As a senior in 2004, he caught 45 passes for 843 yards and nine touchdowns, returned seven punts for 125 yards, returned 12 kickoffs for 293 yards, made two

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

s, three interceptions, and 81 tackles including 53 solo. As a junior, he was named an all-league and all-county player. As a senior, he was named an all-league, all-county, and PrepStar All-East Region player. He was also posted the fourth-best time (7.62) in the high hurdles in the nation. Oquendo was recruited by Maryland,

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, and Rutgers.Player Bio: Danny Oquendo
University of Maryland, retrieved January 12, 2009.

College career

In 2005, Oquendo saw action in all 11 games as a true freshman including one start. Oquendo posted three receptions for 20 yards. On

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, he posted ten tackles and two fumble recoveries. In 2006, he played in all 13 games including 5 starts, mostly at slot receiver. He caught 34 passes for 396 yards and two touchdowns, and was the second-highest receiving yards leader on the team. He returned 12 punts for 218 yards. In 2007, after starting quarterback Jordan Steffy was injured mid-season, he briefly participated in an open tryout for a reservist to provide more depth at the position. Oquendo played in the first nine games and made 19 receptions before suffering a season-ending knee injury during practice. In 2008, Oquendo saw action in all 13 games including five starts. He made 29 receptions for 371 yards including two touchdowns and a 50-yard long.2008 Cumulative Season Statistics
, University of Maryland, retrieved January 12, 2009. Due to his sure hands, Oquendo was quarterback Chris Turner's preferred third-down receiver, and caught 13 passes on third downs, all of which gained enough yardage to convert to a first down. Star Z receiver

Darrius Heyward-Bey Darrius Ramar Heyward-Bey (born February 26, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at the University of Maryland, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders seventh overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He has also p ...

said, "I tell people

urner Urner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Catherine Murphy Urner (1891–1942), American composer *Joseph Urner (1898–1987), American sculptor, painter, and etcher *Milton Urner (1839–1926), American politician See also * ...

doesn’t look my way on third down, he's looking for Danny … I’ve been telling people all year. I even told a efensive backone time in the game 'He ain't coming my way.' Danny’s the man."Patrick Stevens
Some praise for Oquendo
, ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'', December 28, 2008, retrieved January 14, 2009. On special teams, Oquendo returned 20 punt returns for 104 yards when he was utilized in that position for his reliable hands rather than an elusive returning ability.Patrick Stevens
Maryland rewind '08: Returners
, ''The Washington Times'', January 8, 2009, retrieved January 14, 2009. Oquendo also recorded one completion on two trick play pass attempts for a 43-yard touchdown.

Death of his brother

Danny Oquendo's half-brother, Avonte Oquendo, was an

14-year-old boy who, in September 2013, began as a freshman at a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

school within the newly constructed Riverview School in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. Avonte slipped out of the school the following month, leading to a widely broadcast search for him. Danny left his job in Florida to help in the search and took a strong lead in urging attention on it over the next three months, until his brother's remains were found on the

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

bank of the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

in January 2014. Through contact with Gary Mayerson, an attorney who specializes in legal services for children with autism and whose firm had offered a monetary award for the search for Avonte, Danny was motivated to resume his university studies in the field of law, with a focus on special education law. He was accepted by

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, which offers a specialization in this field, and planned to begin his studies in Fall 2014.

References

Sources

Quietly, Terps' Oquendo makes a resounding impact
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', November 21, 2008.
'Tough guys' on the Terps
''The Baltimore Sun'', September 2008.

'' The Diamondback'', April 19, 2007.
'The New Breed' has more confidence than experience
'' The Herald-Mail'', September 8, 2006.
Rutgers' Resurgence Is Like Day, Knights
''The Washington Post'', September 29, 2007.

''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee Ge ...

'', October 23, 2004.
Terps WR status for Wake still unclear

The America's Intelligence Wire The America's Intelligence Wire is a daily general newswire service. The news service is owned and published by Financial Times, Ltd, which also operates companion newswire Europe Intelligence Wire. See also * Business and Company Resource Cent ...

, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', November 22, 2006.
Looking for catches before happy returns
''The Washington Times'', August 12, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oquendo, Danny 1988 births Hackensack High School alumni Sportspeople from Hackensack, New Jersey American football wide receivers Maryland Terrapins football players Players of American football from New Jersey Living people