Daniel Oquendo, Jr. (; born July 8, 1987) is a former American college

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

of the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. After the death of his

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

half-brother, Avonte Oquendo, in October 2013 in an incident which gained national headlines, Danny has determined to study law.

Early life

Oquendo was born in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, to Daniel Oquendo, Sr., and Ana Garcia. He attended

Hackensack High School Hackensack High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Hackensack, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Hackensack Public Schools. Hackensack High School serves students from the Bergen County, ...

where he was a three-year starter as a wide receiver and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. As a junior, he led the team in tackles and returned two punts and a kick for touchdowns. As a senior in 2004, he caught 45 passes for 843 yards and nine touchdowns, returned seven punts for 125 yards, returned 12 kickoffs for 293 yards, made two

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

s, three interceptions, and 81 tackles including 53 solo. As a junior, he was named an all-league and all-county player. As a senior, he was named an all-league, all-county, and PrepStar All-East Region player. He was also posted the fourth-best time (7.62) in the high hurdles in the nation. Oquendo was recruited by Maryland,

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, and

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

.Player Bio: Danny Oquendo
University of Maryland, retrieved January 12, 2009.

College career

In 2005, Oquendo saw action in all 11 games as a true freshman including one start. Oquendo posted three receptions for 20 yards. On

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, he posted ten tackles and two fumble recoveries. In 2006, he played in all 13 games including 5 starts, mostly at

slot receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense, WR gets its name from the player being split ...

. He caught 34 passes for 396 yards and two touchdowns, and was the second-highest receiving yards leader on the team. He returned 12 punts for 218 yards. In 2007, after starting quarterback Jordan Steffy was injured mid-season, he briefly participated in an open tryout for a reservist to provide more depth at the position. Oquendo played in the first nine games and made 19 receptions before suffering a season-ending knee injury during practice. In 2008, Oquendo saw action in all 13 games including five starts. He made 29 receptions for 371 yards including two touchdowns and a 50-yard long.2008 Cumulative Season Statistics
, University of Maryland, retrieved January 12, 2009. Due to his sure hands, Oquendo was quarterback Chris Turner's preferred third-down receiver, and caught 13 passes on third downs, all of which gained enough yardage to convert to a first down. Star Z receiver

Darrius Heyward-Bey Darrius Ramar Heyward-Bey (born February 26, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins, and was selected by the O ...

said, "I tell people

urner Urner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Catherine Murphy Urner (1891–1942), American composer * Joseph Urner (1898–1987), American sculptor, painter, and etcher *Milton Urner (1839–1926), American politician See also ...

doesn’t look my way on third down, he's looking for Danny … I’ve been telling people all year. I even told a efensive backone time in the game 'He ain't coming my way.' Danny’s the man."Patrick Stevens
Some praise for Oquendo
, ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'', December 28, 2008, retrieved January 14, 2009. On special teams, Oquendo returned 20 punt returns for 104 yards when he was utilized in that position for his reliable hands rather than an elusive returning ability.Patrick Stevens
Maryland rewind '08: Returners
, ''The Washington Times'', January 8, 2009, retrieved January 14, 2009. Oquendo also recorded one completion on two

trick play A trick play, also known as a gadget play, gimmick play or trickeration, is a play in gridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or a ...

pass attempts for a 43-yard touchdown.

Death of his brother

Danny Oquendo's half-brother, Avonte Oquendo, was an

14-year-old boy who, in September 2013, began as a freshman at a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

school within the newly constructed Riverview School in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. Avonte slipped out of the school the following month, leading to a widely broadcast search for him. Danny left his job in Florida to help in the search and took a strong lead in urging attention on it over the next three months, until his brother's remains were found on the

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

bank of the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

in January 2014. Through contact with Gary Mayerson, an attorney who specializes in legal services for children with autism and whose firm had offered a monetary award for the search for Avonte, Danny was motivated to resume his university studies in the field of law, with a focus on special education law. He was accepted by

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, which offers a specialization in this field, and planned to begin his studies in Fall 2014.

References

Sources

Quietly, Terps' Oquendo makes a resounding impact
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', November 21, 2008.
'Tough guys' on the Terps
''The Baltimore Sun'', September 2008.

''

The Diamondback ''The Diamondback'' is an independent student newspaper associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. It began in 1910 as ''The Triangle'' and became known as ''The Diamondback'' in 1921. ''The Diamondback'' was initially published a ...

'', April 19, 2007.
'The New Breed' has more confidence than experience
''

The Herald-Mail ''The Herald-Mail'' is a newspaper serving the cities of Hagerstown, Maryland, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and Martinsburg, West Virginia and the surrounding counties. History ''The Morning Herald'' was the first daily newspaper in Hagerstown, b ...

'', September 8, 2006.
Rutgers' Resurgence Is Like Day, Knights
''The Washington Post'', September 29, 2007.

''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'', October 23, 2004.
Terps WR status for Wake still unclear

The America's Intelligence Wire The America's Intelligence Wire is a daily general newswire service. The news service is owned and published by Financial Times, Ltd, which also operates companion newswire Europe Intelligence Wire. The wire carries transcripts of MSNBC programs ...

, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', November 22, 2006.
Looking for catches before happy returns
''The Washington Times'', August 12, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oquendo, Danny 1988 births Hackensack High School alumni Players of American football from Hackensack, New Jersey American football wide receivers Maryland Terrapins football players Living people