Danny O'Brien, the starting quarterback on the Maryland football team, is one of 66 offensive skill-position players on the Maxwell Football Club's watch list for the 2011 college football "player of the year," according to a press release sent out.
"Player of the year" is in quotation marks because only skill position players are listed, and in an ideal world, any award for "player of the year" that completely ignores about 3/4 of the players and positions that take the field in a given sport should be given a different name. Still, it's good to see UMD's starting quarterback getting some national dap among other high-profile quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.
O'Brien threw for 2438 yards and 22 touchdowns as a freshman last season while leading the Terrapins to a 9-4 record. His place on the watch-list is an indication that he's expected to improve on his already-stellar performance.
O'Brien's teammate, senior safety Kenny Tate, is on the Maxwell Club's watch list for the Bednarik award, which is given to the top defensive college football player. I guess they need their own award since none of them could ever be the "player of the year."