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Update 1:45 p.m.
Former Maryland quarterback Danny O'Brien has contacted Penn State and is interested in transferring to the school.
PSU coach Bill O'Brien said so Wednesday afternoon outside Holuba Hall, where Penn State's Pro Day was taking place. The coach said he was not aware of any scheduled spring visit.
"Danny does have an interest," Bill O'Brien said. "I'd say we're one of many schools that he's looking at.
"If I can do anything to improve the football team within the rules, whether that's a recruiting idea or a scheme or transfer, then I'm definitely gonna look into it."
Danny O'Brien's high school coach, Todd Willert, said Tuesday afternoon by phone his former player will start visiting schools during spring practice and make a final decision by mid-April. Wisconsin, Penn State or Vanderbilt seems to be the most likely landing spot, though Willert would not confirm any scheduled visits.
Willert said O'Brien wants a pro-style offense and a coaching staff that makes him feel comfortable.
When pressed about visiting Penn State, Willert said, "I'm not 100 percent sure on that right now. I really don't know.
"I'm sure [he'll decide] sooner than later," said Willert, who maintains contact with Danny O'Brien and his family on a daily basis. "I'm not exactly sure what schools he's got it nailed down to."
All three schools run a pro-style offense. Wisconsin used N.C. State transfer quarterback Russell Wilson in 2011 and won the Big Ten but has a new offensive coordinator in Matt Canada after Paul Chryst was hired as head coach at Pitt. Vanderbilt coach James Franklin served as Maryland's offensive coordinator from 2008-10 and took some former Maryland assistants with him to Nashville, so there's certainly a comfort level there.
Penn State, however, has Bill O'Brien, the former offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots who has worked with Tom Brady.
It also has a muddy quarterback situation in fifth-year senior Matt McGloin and junior Rob Bolden, who split snaps throughout 2011. Those two, as well as redshirt sophomore Paul Jones and incoming freshman Steven Bench, must grasp a new offense and impress a brand new offensive coaching staff. Truly, the job is up for grabs.
O'Brien has not specifically addressed Danny O'Brien but did say he'd be open to a transfer if he added value to the roster.
"They still have to be Penn State-type guys," Bill O'Brien said last Thursday on "The Goon Show." "Those are few and far between. Not just anybody can transfer in here."
Danny O'Brien will complete his undergraduate degree in business this spring, allowing him to transfer to a Football Bowl Subdivision school and immediately play — as long as he enrolls in a graduate program not offered at Maryland.
Danny O'Brien, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback who threw for 1,648 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year would have two years of eligibility remaining. As a redshirt freshman, he threw for 2,438 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
He could not be reached for comment.
Willert said O'Brien likely will enroll in some type of business program to earn his Masters Degree.
The question, of course, is where.
"He's gonna wanna look for a pro-style offense," Willert said. "I don't think he'll visit any school that is not a pro-style offense. He's not a zone read guy.
"He's a very intelligent kid — just a great kid, student of the game, all the stuff you kind of hear. You hear a lot of stuff in the media . . . it's a lot more in-depth to what happened at Maryland. He's not like he's trying to shop himself around. He needs to find a better situation for him.
"Right now, if he had his way, he'd know exactly where he's playing and know the playbook."
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Boatright is back, but the story might be far from over
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Boat is back, but story far from over
HARTFORD -- Connecticut guard Ryan Boatright says he just wants to concentrate on basketball while his mother considers legal action in the wake of an NCAA news release detailing an investigation into the freshman's eligibility.
Boatright played Sunday in the 24th-ranked Huskies' 50-48 loss to Notre Dame after the NCAA said it would it take no further action, despite finding that he and his mother had accepted more than $8,000 in impermissible benefits from at least two people.
"It's finally over with," Boatright said after scoring six points. "We can finally put it behind us. We don't have to worry about me getting pulled out again. We just have to use this to our advantage and come together as a team and make this last final run."
But Scott Tompsett, an attorney representing Ryan's mother, Tanesha, issued a statement calling Saturday's NCAA news release that announced the findings false and misleading. He said the people providing the benefits were friends of the Boatright family and had "no expectation of repayment or reciprocation."
"And there's not a shred of evidence that they influenced Ryan's decision to attend UConn or that they intend to represent Ryan if he ever goes pro," he said. "The public also should know that the NCAA never told Tanesha and Ryan who made the accusations about them or told them the substance of the accusations so they could defend themselves."
Tompsett, who also has represented Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun in the past, said the Boatrights had been told the information they gave the NCAA would be kept confidential.
"The NCAA has violated the Boatrights' privacy by releasing their personal information," he said.
The NCAA said the benefits included car payments, travel expenses for his mother during four official visits to NCAA schools, and approximately $1,200.
"In addition, Mr. Boatright was provided travel expenses, hotel, meals and training expenses during a two-night trip to California," the organization said.
The NCAA said the benefits came from at least two people with links to "nonscholastic basketball and professional sports."
Several news organizations, including ESPN and The New York Times, had previously reported that a plane ticket was purchased for Boatright's mother by Reggie Rose, who runs the AAU team for which Boatright played. Rose, the brother of NBA star Derrick Rose, has declined to comment on the case.
The NCAA said it allowed Boatright to return to action after determining he has lived up to an agreement that gave him limited immunity for cooperating in the investigation.
, and is "likely the least culpable" of those involved in the violations.
NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn issued a statement Sunday saying the organization had not violated the family's privacy nor implied that the benefits were used to influence Boatright to attend UConn.
"In fact, both UConn. and Mr. Boatright should be commended for their cooperation throughout the process to gather information," she said. "The school and student-athlete's dedication to uncover the facts should be viewed as a positive example, not somehow construed negatively. Had Ms. Boatright cooperated fully from the beginning, this matter could have been settled months ago."
Boatright has missed nine games this season as a result of the investigation, including a six-game suspension to start the season. He also is repaying $4,500 in benefits. He was held out of the last three games as the NCAA looked into additional information.
He said he considers the matter closed.
"I'm just happy to be back on the court," he said. "Whatever my mom and the lawyer got going on, that's with them."
The 6-foot Boatright received a standing ovation when he entered the game just under 4 minutes into the first half. His first points came on a runner in the lane at the halftime buzzer that gave UConn a 24-21 lead. He finished 3 of 6 from the field.
"I'm sure that Ryan was trying to work out a lot of kinks," Calhoun said. "But, he's always going to give you a very good effort. He's a good basketball player and I think he has a great future with us."
Before Tompsett's release, university President Susan Herbst issued a statement on Sunday praising Boatright's character.
"This young man has shown tremendous patience and poise all the while in the national spotlight," she said. "This is a strength of character that is seldom demanded of college freshmen and I am extraordinarily proud of him, our team and our coaching staff."
Connecticut went 6-3 this season with Boatright out of the lineup, but dropped two of three when he was forced to sit out a second time. The Huskies (14-6, 4-4 Big East) won at Notre Dame, snapping the Irish's 29-game home-court winning streak, before losing consecutive games to Cincinnati and Tennessee, each by three points.
Boatright averaged more than 10 points and three assists in the 10 games he played after being reinstated to the team.

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Tigers have Tribe's number as gap widens in Central
After creeping up in standings, Indians have had rough two days vs. rivals
CLEVELAND -- The American League Central race between the Tigers and Indians exists. Or, at the very least, existed.
I swear. I'm not making this up.
They stopped home delivery of the local newspaper here on Monday, so I can't find that day's sports page to prove it. Maybe I can do some sort of Google cache search for Internet evidence, but this will be easier if you just take my word for it that, two days ago, this really did look like a race.
The Indians, if you can remember back that far, were three games back and had won 10 of 11. The Tigers were in the midst of their usual second-half surge, but they couldn't shake that feisty Tribe.
Something happens, though, when these two clubs get together. All that early season expectation that the Tigers would run away with the Central looks profoundly prescient. And if all you knew about this race was what you saw when these two face each other, you'd struggle to understand why it's considered a race at all.
The Tigers, after all, have won 11 of 14 meetings with the Indians this season. They won again Tuesday night at Progressive Field, where Justin Verlander outdueled (and out-Justined) Cleveland ace Justin Masterson, pushing the Tigers' AL Central advantage to five games, after what can only be described as a nightmarish 24 hours for the Indians.
Late Monday night, the Tribe saw a sensational Corey Kluber start go to waste when closer Chris Perez couldn't protect a 2-0 ninth-inning lead, with Alex Avila's three-run blast serving as the seminal moment thus far in the season series. The loss proved all the more costly when it was revealed on Tuesday that Kluber strained his right middle finger on his fourth-to-last pitch of the outing, an injury that sent him to the 15-day disabled list shortly before Tuesday's loss.
That's a lot to take in. And even with nearly eight weeks left in the season proper for a team that has been as resilient as any this year, that's a lot to recover from.
"It just kind of seems like after yesterday and today," said Nick Swisher, "it's just been one bad thing after another."
Tuesday's pitchers' duel went bad when Masterson let a five-run fifth inning get away from him after Ramon Santiago reached on a hit-by-pitch that may or may not have qualified as a bunt attempt. The inning got out of hand from there and spiked when Don Kelly, who has inexplicably potent numbers against Masterson (a .458 average, including two homers and six RBIs this season), hit a three-run homer into the Tigers' bullpen.
"He salivates," Masterson said of Kelly, "when I get up there."
The Indians are where they are this season in no small measure because Masterson has made the transition from nominal ace to actual ace. Again, though, you wouldn't know that from these meetings. He's 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA in three outings against Detroit.
And Verlander? Well, he hasn't exactly been the Verlander of '11 and '12 this season, but this night was evidence that the Verlander of old still lurks within. He went eight innings, allowed a run on four hits and saw his fastball creep up the velocity chart while creeping down around the knees of a perplexed Indians offense.
"When he's not thinking so much, not trying to find his mechanics or release point, he's just grabbing it and going," Tigers catcher Avila said of Verlander. "It was hard for me, at times, to keep up with him. When he's rapid fire, it's boom, boom, boom. Hitters are trying to call for time."
Were the Indians afforded the luxury of calling for time, they'd probably take advantage of it right about now. Because this series -- a series that, rightly or wrongly, is being read by many as a litmus test of the Tribe's ability to either contend or crumble -- has quickly slipped away from them. And on Wednesday, they'll call on 23-year-old rookie Danny Salazar, making only his second Major League start, to be their stopper as they try to salvage a split.
Oh, Danny boy. No pressure, kid.
Salazar's superb debut against the Blue Jays a month back was one of the many "Where did that come from?" moments that have allowed the Tribe to surge up the standings this season. They've survived on the might of an improving young core and a surprisingly productive bench, and the locals have taken enough notice that TV ratings for Monday's game actually outpaced "The Bachelorette" finale.
The Tigers, however, are the thorn in the Indians' rose ceremony. Never has that been more clear than it's been the last couple of days.
"To win in your division," Avila said, "you have to beat the guys in your division. That's just what you have to do. We're at a point in the year where every game is important."
The Indians have beefed up elsewhere in their schedule this season, and with a heavy dose of Angels, Twins, White Sox and Astros, their remaining schedule qualifies as somewhat soft -- a point they've no doubt noticed.
"Yeah, we want to win these games and hopefully split the series," Masterson said. "But the main factor as we go through the rest of the season is going to be winning games we're supposed to. If we can't do that, it's not going to matter even if we beat Detroit."
Well, sure, but beating Detroit couldn't possibly hurt. And when you can't capitalize on a late-inning lead (the Tribe was 29-0 when leading after eight innings at home before Monday's meltdown), and can't win with your ace and lose arguably your second-best starter in the process, it stings considerably.
Mum was the word on how long the Indians expect Kluber to be on the mend, but Zach McAllister missed a month and a half with a similar strain. Beyond Salazar, the forecast on the farm is partly cloudy with a chance of Dice-K. The Indians have hung with the Tigers in the standings because they've hung with them on the mound, where, entering Tuesday, the two clubs had the two best starters' ERAs in the Majors since the All-Star break. One way or another, that must continue.
This is still a race, as we sit here today. But that will be an exponentially more difficult statement to make with a straight face if the Indians don't salvage this series.