Danny Brannagan
Encyclopedia
Danny Brannagan is a professional Canadian football
quarterback
who is currently a free agent
. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts
of the Canadian Football League
.
in Burlington where in his 5th and final year in 2004, he led the Assumption Crusaders to the GHAC finals where they defeated St. Jean de Brebeuf in a thriller, with the final score 35-32. Trailing by 27 points with less than 8 minutes to play, Brannagan led Assumption's offense to an amazing comeback, taking the lead with under 2 minutes left to play.
in 2005 and quickly assumed the starting quarterback position. In a game against Wilfrid Laurier
, he came off the bench in the fourth quarter and threw for 110 yards, earning the start the following week against York University
. He threw for 341 yards in the team's win and never looked back, starting the final seven games of the season. He was named the OUA
Rookie of the Year for the 2005 season after completing 115 passes out of 209 attempts for 1,860 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
that year.
, he passed Tommy Denison as Queen's all-time leading passer. He again started all eight regular season games compiling an undefeated record of 8-0 and first seed in the OUA playoffs. However, the Golden Gaels were defeated by the underdog
Ottawa Gee-Gees in the second round of the playoffs. For his outstanding play, Brannagan was named to the CIS All-Canadian Second Team.
game. Brannagan started seven games in 2009, en route to the Golden Gaels' 7-1 regular season finish. During the season, he would become only the third CIS quarterback to throw for over 10,000 yards in a career, and finished second all-time behind Michael Faulds
with 10,714 yards. He threw for career bests of 2,580 yards and a 62.14% completion percentage to go along with 15 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. In the post-season, Brannagan was named Yates Cup
MVP after recording a 43-39 win over Michael Faulds and the Western Ontario Mustangs
. He capped off his outstanding collegiate career with a 33-31 win over the Calgary Dinos
in the Vanier Cup
where he was again named MVP for the game.
Heading into the final week of the 2009 regular season and despite having already missed a game due to injury, Brannagan led Western quarterback Michael Faulds by 164 career passing yards, and sat just 30 yards short of the all-time CIS record of 10,455 yards which was set just one season earlier by former McGill
quarterback Matt Connell. However, Brannagan had a mediocre Week 8, completing 25 of 45 attempts for 289 yards and no touchdowns, while Faulds threw for an impressive 550 yards against the University of Toronto
. Brannagan subsequently finished second on the all-time list with 10,714 yards, having been surpassed by Faulds, who finished with the record of 10,811 yards.
the day after the camp ended, on March 15, 2010, to a three year contract. He was named to Toronto's practice roster on June 23, 2010. On November 7, 2010, Brannagan made his pro-football debut at quarterback for the Argonauts against the Montreal Alouettes
& became the first Canadian quarterback to take a snap for the Argos since Frank Cosentino
in .. He, also, became the first Canadian quarterback to take a snap in the Canadian Football League
since Montreal Alouettes
' quarterback, Larry Jusdanis in . Despite making his CFL debut at the end of the 2010 season, Brannagan was released by the Argonauts on June 25, 2011.
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
.
High school
Brannagan attended high school at Assumption Catholic Secondary SchoolAssumption Catholic Secondary School
Assumption Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic high school in Burlington, Ontario.-School population:The school population for the 2007-2008 school year was 1,119. In the summer of 2006, portables were added in order to deal with increasing enrollment. Most of these portables have since been...
in Burlington where in his 5th and final year in 2004, he led the Assumption Crusaders to the GHAC finals where they defeated St. Jean de Brebeuf in a thriller, with the final score 35-32. Trailing by 27 points with less than 8 minutes to play, Brannagan led Assumption's offense to an amazing comeback, taking the lead with under 2 minutes left to play.
2005
Brannagan began his university football career with the Queen's Golden GaelsQueen's Golden Gaels
The Queen's Gaels are the athletic teams that represent Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Team colours are blue, red, and gold. Its main home is Richardson Memorial Stadium on West Campus....
in 2005 and quickly assumed the starting quarterback position. In a game against Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....
, he came off the bench in the fourth quarter and threw for 110 yards, earning the start the following week against York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. He threw for 341 yards in the team's win and never looked back, starting the final seven games of the season. He was named the OUA
Ontario University Athletics
Ontario University Athletics is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and events to the public...
Rookie of the Year for the 2005 season after completing 115 passes out of 209 attempts for 1,860 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
2006-2007
In 2006, Brannagan started all ten games for Queen's (including two playoff games), leading the team to a 4-4 record. He finished the season ranked third in the OUA with 1,744 passing yards and threw for 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In 2007, Brannagan started eight regular season games and one playoff game, as the team finished with a 6-2 record. He showed great improvement this season, passing for 2,123 yards for 15 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He also played in the CIS East/West Bowl in HamiltonHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
that year.
2008
Brannagan continued to improve for the 2008 season, as he completed 144 of 255 passes for 2,407 yards for a nation-leading 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In a week six win versus the University of OttawaUniversity of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
, he passed Tommy Denison as Queen's all-time leading passer. He again started all eight regular season games compiling an undefeated record of 8-0 and first seed in the OUA playoffs. However, the Golden Gaels were defeated by the underdog
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
Ottawa Gee-Gees in the second round of the playoffs. For his outstanding play, Brannagan was named to the CIS All-Canadian Second Team.
2009
While the team suffered their first loss in the last regular season game of 2009, it would be the last time Brannagan would lose a CIS footballCIS football
Twenty-six universities across Canada compete in football under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport . The teams are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of the CIS: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Quebec...
game. Brannagan started seven games in 2009, en route to the Golden Gaels' 7-1 regular season finish. During the season, he would become only the third CIS quarterback to throw for over 10,000 yards in a career, and finished second all-time behind Michael Faulds
Michael Faulds
Michael Faulds is Canadian football quarterback who is currently the offensive coordinator for the York University Lions, having completed his five year playing career in CIS football with the Western Ontario Mustangs. Faulds is the all-time CIS passing yards leader with 10,811 yards and is one of...
with 10,714 yards. He threw for career bests of 2,580 yards and a 62.14% completion percentage to go along with 15 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. In the post-season, Brannagan was named Yates Cup
Yates Cup
The Yates Cup is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport federation. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back to 1898 and surpassing both the Grey...
MVP after recording a 43-39 win over Michael Faulds and the Western Ontario Mustangs
Western Ontario Mustangs
The Western Ontario Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada...
. He capped off his outstanding collegiate career with a 33-31 win over the Calgary Dinos
Calgary Dinos
The Calgary Dinos football team has won the Vanier Cup national championship four times, the most out of any of the Canada West teams and most recently in 1995. The Dinos also won in 1983, 1985 and 1988. The team most recently appeared in the 2010 Vanier Cup, but lost to the Laval Rouge et Or...
in the Vanier Cup
Vanier Cup
The Vanier Cup is the name of the championship of Canadian Interuniversity Sport football and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl...
where he was again named MVP for the game.
Heading into the final week of the 2009 regular season and despite having already missed a game due to injury, Brannagan led Western quarterback Michael Faulds by 164 career passing yards, and sat just 30 yards short of the all-time CIS record of 10,455 yards which was set just one season earlier by former McGill
McGill Redmen
The McGill Redmen CIS football team is one of the oldest in all of Canada, having begun organized competition in 1898. The team has appeared in three Vanier Cup national championships, in 1969, 1973 and 1987, with the Redmen finally winning the title in the 1987 game...
quarterback Matt Connell. However, Brannagan had a mediocre Week 8, completing 25 of 45 attempts for 289 yards and no touchdowns, while Faulds threw for an impressive 550 yards against the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Brannagan subsequently finished second on the all-time list with 10,714 yards, having been surpassed by Faulds, who finished with the record of 10,811 yards.
Toronto Argonauts
After impressing at the 2010 CFL E-Camp, Brannagan was signed by the Toronto ArgonautsToronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
the day after the camp ended, on March 15, 2010, to a three year contract. He was named to Toronto's practice roster on June 23, 2010. On November 7, 2010, Brannagan made his pro-football debut at quarterback for the Argonauts against the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
& became the first Canadian quarterback to take a snap for the Argos since Frank Cosentino
Frank Cosentino
Frank Cosentino was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League.Cosentino was a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, where he captained the football team to the first Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship in 1959. As a professional he played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton...
in .. He, also, became the first Canadian quarterback to take a snap in the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
since Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
' quarterback, Larry Jusdanis in . Despite making his CFL debut at the end of the 2010 season, Brannagan was released by the Argonauts on June 25, 2011.