Three years ago, Danny O’Brien took his first steps into the world of college football coaching. He joined the Penn State football schedule as an analyst, bringing valuable experience as a quarterback, both in Maryland and the CFL. And while he was adjusting, O’Brien needed a place to live. So he spent time in the apartment above Penn State coach James Franklin’s garage.

“He is a very friendly owner. The guest room at his house is insane,” O’Brien said during a recent conference call. “It’s honestly one of the best places I’ve ever lived. So I got a good deal there, (I’ve) moved on since then, but I would give it an A+ or a five-star rating if it was an Airbnb.

Franklin called O’Brien a “rising star” in coaching, and Penn State quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula will heap praise on O’Brien when given the chance. Since joining the program in 2021, O’Brien, 34, has progressed from analyst to graduate assistant to his current role as quarterbacks coach, leading one of the most all-rounders in the Big Ten.

From analyst to quarterbacks coach

As a player, O’Brien spent three years (2009-11) as a quarterback at Maryland. Franklin was his offensive coordinator throughout the 2010 season, shortly before accepting his first head coaching job at Vanderbilt. O’Brien, who then played one season at Wisconsin and another at Catawba, accumulated 7,099 passing yards and 47 career touchdowns before playing six seasons in the Canadian Football League.

In 2021, shortly after O’Brien’s playing career ended, Franklin recruited his former quarterback to Penn State’s coaching staff. Considering Franklin played a role in his recruitment to Maryland when he was a high school quarterback, O’Brien has a long-standing relationship with his current boss, also briefly his owner.

“I met him when I was 16, and I’m 34 now, so I’ve known him for more than half my life,” O’Brien said of Franklin. “He’s the same guy now as he was when he recruited me. … He’s a great person to work for.” He’s a great person to play for. So it’s special to me to come to work every day and your boss is someone you met when you were a kid.

When the NCAA changed its rules this year allow staff members to coachPenn State leveraged O’Brien’s experience. O’Brien said he “organically” became Penn State’s quarterbacks coach, taking on the role in February. As a graduate assistant, O’Brien does not have one of the program’s 10 full-time assistant roles, but he nonetheless plays a vital role in the growth and success of arguably the most important position in the game in a program that is now aiming for its very first. College Football Playoff Appearance.

“If you really, really want to coordinate, sometimes you sacrifice a position group,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said on the Penn State Coaches Fair. “Having Danny and all the coaches on staff gives me the flexibility to really coordinate.”

O’Brien added: “(I was) very grateful and excited to take on this challenge and run the venue on my own. It’s been super rewarding, to be honest. I mean, having started out as an analyst,…I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be able to coach these guys. It’s special to have been a part of their entire recruiting process and to know them and their families and what motivates them.

Development from Penn State QB1 and QB2

With O’Brien leading the position group and Kotelnicki injecting creativity into the Nittany Lions’ offense, Drew Allar and Beau Pribula have made significant strides in their development this season.

Allar, a second-year starter, became increasingly mobile while playing with new fire and using his arm talent to make big plays. After his sophomore campaign identified areas for improvement, Allar in many ways became the quarterback fans hoped to see.

“Our mantra in our (quarterbacks) room is to be the thermostat of the team, get guys going when we need to and stay calm in times of adversity,” O’Brien said. “In the first three quarters of the season, (Allar) did a really good job.”

The most significant development of Pribula in 2024 has been its real impact in both directions. Already known for his talent on the ground, the redshirt sophomore was deployed more often as a passer through nine games, throwing for 204 yards and three touchdowns with a 79.2 percent completion rate.

“Obviously we know the type of athlete and player he is on the field and the threat his legs pose,” O’Brien said. “And it’s a balance between having that, but not relying on it too much, being able to progress from the pocket. I think that’s where his biggest area of ​​growth lies, which is that he can hurt you out of pocket. He’s not just a Wildcat guy who only throws it when necessary.

As a former quarterback, the way O’Brien runs the game becomes a major asset for the Nittany Lions.

“To see how he played and how he went through his process, and how he perceives football, I think it helps me a lot,” Pribula said. “Since I got here, really, Danny has been super consistent. There is one thing that is very consistent about him, and that is that he loves football. He loves football.

Penn State is one of the lucky teams in the country with a clear QB1 who has NFL-level arm talent and a QB2 who still plays an important role as a true Swiss army knife. O’Brien helped turn Allar and Pribula into the versatile players they have become this season. And Penn State’s quarterbacks coach has already come a long way since joining Franklin’s program as an analyst while staying in his luxury garage. Even as a coach, O’Brien continues to push the boundaries of his individual development.

“I tell our guys all the time how hypocritical it would be of me to constantly push them to improve, both in their strengths and their weaknesses, if I do the same thing now that there is three years. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” O’Brien said. “It’s just kind of a daily, weekly, evolving process of just trying to get better at your craft. And now that I’m not playing and I’m coaching, I’m trying to be a better teacher, because at the end of the day, that’s all coaches are, they’re teachers.

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Daniel Mader, who graduated from Penn State in May 2024, is an editorial intern at The Sporting News. As a student reporter at the Daily Collegian, he served as sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Center Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on @DanielMader_ or Instagram @dmadersports.