Daniel Matthew O'Brien (born September 26, 1990) is an American gridiron football assistant coach with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). As a professional

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, he had been a member of the

Columbus Lions The Columbus Lions are a professional indoor football team based in Columbus, Georgia and are a member of the American Indoor Football Alliance. The were a founding member of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season. The Lions were ...

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Starting ...

, Edmonton Eskimos, and BC Lions. He played college football for 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 ...

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

and

Catawba College Catawba College is a private college in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its cu ...

Early years

O'Brien was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and at the age of 12, moved to

Kernersville, North Carolina Kernersville is a town in Forsyth County and the largest suburb of Winston-Salem. The town is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. A small portion of the town is also in Guilford County. The population was 26,481 at the 2020 census, u ...

, where he attended East Forsyth High School. During his interscholastic career, he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and football as a

. As a junior in 2007, he completed 151 of 248 pass attempts for 1,905 yards and 15

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s and

rushed ''Rushed'' is a 2021 American mystery thriller drama film directed by Vibeke Muasya and starring Siobhan Fallon Hogan (who also wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film) and Robert Patrick. Plot Barbara O’Brien, an Irish-Catholic mother i ...

for 290 yards and seven touchdowns. As a senior, he completed 117 of 235 pass attempts for 1,640 yards and 16 touchdowns and six

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

s and had 160 rushing attempts for 780 yards and 11 touchdowns. That season, he led his team to the Metro 4A conference championship and the third round of the state playoffs.Player Bio: Danny O'Brien
University of Maryland, retrieved November 27, 2010.

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

rated him a three-star college prospect and ranked him the 36th best quarterback in the nation and 35th best player in the state of North Carolina.Danny O'Brien
Rivals.com, Yahoo! Sports, retrieved November 27, 2010.

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

also rated him a three-star prospect.Danny O'Brien Profile
Scout.com, retrieved November 27, 2010.

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...

, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and

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

showed interest in O'Brien, and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

offered him an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...

College career

Maryland

O'Brien enrolled at the University of Maryland in the fall of 2009 but was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

and did not see playing time that year. O'Brien entered the 2010 season as the backup quarterback behind Jamarr Robinson. He saw his first action in the season opener against

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, losing a fumble on his only play of the game. In the second game of the season, O'Brien saw his first serious action against Morgan State. Up 24–0 in the second quarter, O'Brien capitalized by throwing 3 touchdowns in his first four passes before giving way to third string Quarterback, C.J. Brown in the 62–3 win. Against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

, O'Brien again only saw one play of action, getting sacked for a five-yard loss. Robinson's sore arm moved O'Brien into the starting role against Florida International. In the first start of his college career, O'Brien passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. O'Brien shattered all significant Freshman quarterback records at the University of Maryland, passing for 2,438 yards and 22 touchdowns. In addition, he rushed for a twelve-yard touchdown against

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and collected a four-yard touchdown reception against Clemson. During the 2010 season, the Atlantic Coast Conference named O'Brien the ACC Rookie of the Week a total of five times. Upon the conclusion of the season, he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year.Friedgen, O'Brien Honored by the ACC Friedgen earns league's coach of the year award for the second time; O'Brien first-ever Terp rookie of the year
, University of Maryland, November 30, 2010. O'Brien was the first Maryland player to ever receive the honor. The Football Writers Association of America named O'Brien to its Freshman All-America team.

Wisconsin

On February 13, 2012, O'Brien announced he would be transferring from the University of Maryland. O'Brien announced on March 28 that he would transfer to the University of Wisconsin, and on August 20 he was named the starter for Wisconsin's season opener against the

Northern Iowa Panthers The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I (Division I FCS in football). History The school's mascot is t ...

. On September 20, Wisconsin head coach

Bret Bielema Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is currently the head American football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012 ...

replaced O'Brien with redshirt freshman Joel Stave, citing problems with turnovers. After Stave suffered a season-ending injury during the October 27 game against the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

, O'Brien remained the backup behind fifth-year senior Curt Phillips.

Catawba College

On June 10, 2013, it was announced that O'Brien would not be returning to Wisconsin and would instead seek another school for his remaining year of eligibility. It was later announced that O'Brien transferred to

. During his 2013 season with Catawba, O'Brien started ten games while passing for 2,490 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. The team finished with a 6–5 record. O'Brien also played in the 2014

Medal of Honor Bowl The Medal of Honor Bowl was an American college football all-star game played in Charleston, South Carolina, in January 2014 and 2015. The bowl was not sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Primary beneficiaries of th ...

, a postseason

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

, passing for 87 yards (5-for-11) and rushing for a touchdown.

Statistics

Sources: Danny O'Brien Stats
ESPN, retrieved 01 April 1, 2012.

Professional career

After being undrafted in 2014, he was offered a tryout at rookie minicamp with the Atlanta Falcons. However, O'Brien was not signed.

Columbus Lions

On May 27, 2014, O'Brien signed with the

of the

Professional Indoor Football League The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor Foo ...

(PIFL).

Ottawa Redblacks

On the day before his first game for the Lions, O'Brien signed with the

of the CFL on May 31, 2014. O'Brien was placed on the exempt list for the PIFL, and began the season as the third QB on the Redblacks depth chart. A season-ending injury to second-string quarterback

Thomas DeMarco Thomas DeMarco (born January 16, 1989) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played for the BC Lions, Ottawa Redblacks and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). College career College of the Desert De ...

allowed O'Brien to see action during the

2014 CFL season Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unre ...

. Danny O'Brien played in eight games in his first season in the CFL, receiving significant playing time in two of those games. He would finish the season completing 29 of 54 passing attempts for 421 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions (53.1 passer rating).

Edmonton Eskimos

After winning the Grey Cup with the Redblacks in 2016, O'Brien signed with Edmonton Eskimos for the

2017 CFL season The 2017 CFL season was the 64th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 60th season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on June 22 and concluded on November 4. The playoffs commenced on November 12 a ...

, reuniting him with former offensive coordinator and Edmonton Head Coach

Jason Maas Jason Maas (born November 19, 1975) is the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and a former Canadian football quarterback in the CFL. He is best known for his playing career with the Edmonton Eskimos where h ...

, and replacing the retired

Jordan Lynch Jordan Lynch (born October 3, 1990) is a former American football quarterback and running back. After playing college football at Northern Illinois, where he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2013, and going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, ...

as the third quarterback, as well as holder for convert kicks and field goals. On August 11, 2018, O'Brien completed his first pass in nearly two years, on a fake field goal to defensive tackle

Almondo Sewell Almondo Sewell (born January 16, 1987) is a professional gridiron football defensive tackle for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of Akron and attended Hargrave Military ...

. By the season's end he had completed four out of five passes for 44 yards; his one incompletion was an intercepted Hail Mary pass in at the end of a game. After going 15 of 26 for 93 yards in two preseason games to begin the 2019 season, and failing to produce a scoring drive,

Logan Kilgore Logan Kilgore (born May 24, 1990) is a former quarterback with the Canadian Football League from 2015 to 2019. Kilgore made his professional debut in 2016 for the Toronto Argonauts and remained with the Argonauts until 2017. He also spent a year ...

won the backup job and O'Brien was released. When asked about O'Brien's release, Edmonton kicker, Sean Whyte simply replied, "It sucks". O'Brien was the final member of the previous season's quarterback room to leave the team in 2019.

BC Lions

Following the preseason, O'Brien was reunited with Mike Reilly as his backup when he signed with the

. After Reilly suffered a season ending injury near the end of the regular season O'Brien made his starting debut for the Lions in Week 19 in a losing effort against the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

. In the game O'Brien completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He retired during the following off-season.

References

External links

Ottawa RedBlacks bio

ESPN profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Danny 1990 births Living people American football quarterbacks Canadian football quarterbacks Catawba Indians football players Maryland Terrapins football players Wisconsin Badgers football players People from Kernersville, North Carolina Players of American football from Minneapolis Columbus Lions players Ottawa Redblacks players Edmonton Elks players American players of Canadian football BC Lions players BC Lions coaches Sports coaches from Minneapolis Players of Canadian football from Minnesota