For the second consecutive year, the Wisconsin football team may have found its answer to the quarterback position in the arm of an ACC transplant.

Wednesday afternoon, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema announced the addition of former Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien to the Badgers’ roster. O’Brien is set to graduate from Maryland at the end of the current semester and will then enter Wisconsin as a graduate student with two remaining years of eligibility.

Per NCAA rules, O’Brien, as a graduate transfer student, will be able to play immediately for the Badgers, whom he selected over Penn State and Vanderbilt.

“I was blessed to have several great opportunities at other schools, but [the] kind of vibe I got when I was at Wisconsin was special, just being there with the players on the team, the coaching staff, all the supporting staff,” O’Brien said of his visit to UW. “Madison, the campus was great. It was kind of everything I was looking for going into this process.”

The move mirrors that of Russell Wilson from last summer, when the quarterback utilized the same rule to go from North Carolina State to Wisconsin. Wilson started all 13 games last season and led UW to a second-consecutive Big Ten title and Rose Bowl appearance.

O’Brien, who played against Wilson while at NC State in 2010, said he did not contact him during the decision process.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound O’Brien started 17 games over the course of his three-year stay with Maryland. As a redshirt freshman in 2010, he started 10 games and completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,438 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions as the Terrapins finished with a 7-3 record.

That performance, which won him ACC Rookie of the Year honors, came in a pro-style offense under head coach Ralph Friedgen and offensive coordinator James Franklin. But both left the Terrapins the following year, and their replacements – Randy Edsall and Gary Crowton – instituted the spread offense.

O’Brien’s numbers then fell as a redshirt sophomore in that system, throwing for 1,648 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions before losing his starting job as the team finished 2-10.

“I don’t regret one day that I was on campus at Maryland, but I do feel rejuvenated to kind of close this chapter and start a new chapter,” O’Brien said. “It’s refreshing, it’s exciting.”

“I do think [Wisconsin’s offense] fits what I do well. It’s pretty similar to what I did at Maryland two years ago, with more of the pro-style look.”

O’Brien will also feel good about having the chance to hand the ball off to 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist Montee Ball, who apparently received a message from his newest teammate over Twitter shortly after the official announcement.

“Danny o brien just messaged me this.. ‘let’s do this’… it shall be done then my man. #wiscONsin,” Ball tweeted.

O’Brien joins a group of quarterbacks currently decimated by injuries and inexperience. Fifth-year senior Curt Phillips is limited this spring after recovering from another ACL tear. Redshirt junior Jon Budmayr is missing all of spring camp due to a battle with an elbow injury that has sidelined him since last summer. Incoming freshman quarterback Bart Houston is expected to be limited in summer camp because of a non-serious surgery.

In the meantime, redshirt freshman Joel Stave and redshirt sophomore Joe Brennan are healthy but neither have extensive playing experience. Brennan appeared in six games last season, completing six of 15 passes for 48 yards and an interception.

Similar to his approach when Wilson arrived last summer, Bielema said in the statement O’Brien has not been promised the starting job and will compete for it along with the others.

“As is the case with any player who joins our program, we have not promised Danny anything other than the chance to come in during the fall and compete for the starting quarterback position,” Bielema said in the statement. “He understands that and is excited for that opportunity.”

Although he attended high school in North Carolina, O’Brien was born in Minnesota, and said his entire extended family still resides in the Twin Cities area.

He hopes to report to Madison by the summer for informal workouts.

“The summer program starts early June; I would like to get there a little before just to get acclimated,” he said.