Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien remains a Terp, for now, though reports suggest he is seriously considering becoming the 23rd player to flee Randy Edsall’s reign of terror. For any quarterback-light programs, his premature departure could be kind of a big deal. O’Brien has had success in the right system. He has two years of eligibility remaining, and, graduating this year, he will be eligible to play in 2012.

There’s no clear right choice. O’Brien likes Maryland. He has connections. He has a place in the business school set for next year. Though, he lost his starting job running spread option schemes under Gary Crowton and, though new hire Mike Locksley should revert to a more pro-style scheme, O’Brien may struggle to win the starting job in spring football while recovering from a broken arm.

Where would he go? We’ll presume Edsall would block him from the rest of the ACC (Miami would have been an interesting fit). We can also scratch off Temple, Connecticut and West Virginia who play Maryland non-conference.

A logical move would be to Vanderbilt. O’Brien was recruited by James Franklin, played under him and had success as a redshirt freshman under him. The Commodores were not a juggernaut through the air last season. They do have a senior Jordan Rodgers, however, with an impressive pedigree. He was erratic last year, but would at least put up a fight.

It’s conceivable he could also garner interest from a number of schools. Wisconsin was after Dayne Crist and is projected to start RS sophomore Joe Brennan, who has 15 career pass attempts. Penn State’s quarterback solution may not be in house. If he opens things up, presumably any school with a hole, a pro-style offense and reasonable academics could be in play.

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