As fun as Maryland's surprise 8-4 season has been for many reasons, the biggest joy has been seeing redshirt freshman Danny O'Brien emerge as one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC. Today, O'Brien got some much-needed recognition for his accomplishments, officially winning the ACC's Rookie of the Year award in a landslide.
O'Brien blitzed the competition, taking first place on 54 of the 61 ballots for Rookie of the Year and 58 of the 61 for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Patrick Stevens of D1Scourse has the full breakdown.
ACC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR VOTING
54: Danny O'Brien, Maryland
3: Josh Harris, Wake Forest
3: Xavier Rhodes, Florida State
1: DeAndre Hopkins, ClemsonACC OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR VOTING
58: Danny O'Brien, Maryland
2: Josh Harris, Wake Forest
1: DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson
O'Brien is the first Maryland player to win Rookie of the Year since the conference started giving out the award in 1975. He threw for 2,257 yards, 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions on the season after earning the starting job for good in the fourth game of the season.