 On February 13, 2012, O'Brien announced he would be transferring from the University of Maryland.O'Brien announced on March 28 that he would transfer to the University of Wisconsin, and on August 20 he was named the starter for Wisconsin's season opener against the Northern Iowa Panthers.On September 20, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema replaced O'Brien with redshirt freshman Joel Stave, citing problems with turnovers.