Badgers will struggle with O'Brien

Wisconsin has not found another Russell Wilson

Updated: April 23, 2012, 2:45 PM ET

By KC Joyner | ESPN Insider

To judge the reaction surrounding Danny O'Brien's transfer from the Maryland Terrapins to the Wisconsin Badgers, one might think this move will be every bit as impactful as Russell Wilson's transfer in 2011 when he left the North Carolina State Wolfpack and led the Badgers to a Big Ten championship.

On some level, this line of thinking adds up. O'Brien was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2010 and joins a Wisconsin squad that has running back Montee Ball (who made a strong case for the Heisman Trophy last year) and wide receiver Jared Abbrederis (whose 12.9 yards per attempt total was appreciably larger than the 9.4 YPA posted by the more highly touted Nick Toon) returning.

But even with those two helping O'Brien's transition, there are a multitude of reasons to think that this transfer won't even make Wisconsin the Big Ten favorite. In fact, with the volume of issues O'Brien brings to the table, a strong argument can be made that Wisconsin isn't even the Big Ten Leaders division favorite.

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