Northwestern QB Brendan Sullivan commits to Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the second straight year, the Iowa football team has turned to the Big Ten for help at the quarterback position.
Northwestern quarterback Brendan Sullivan announced his commitment to Iowa on Wednesday.
He visited the Iowa campus on Tuesday.
Sullivan is the third quarterback from a Big Ten school to commit to Iowa in the last 18 months.
Iowa landed former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara, and former Wisconsin quarterback Deacon Hill, from the portal before the start of the 2023 spring semester.
McNamara started the first five games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Michigan State in the fifth game.
Hill would then go on to start the final nine games, and to say that he and the offense struggled would be an understatement.
The California native has since entered the transfer portal, which left Iowa with just two quarterbacks on scholarship – McNamara and redshirt freshman Marco Lainez.
That number will grow to four when Sullivan and incoming freshman and Florida native James Resar join the team this summer.
Iowa was looking to add a quarterback to fill the spot that was created by Hill’s decision to enter the portal last month.
Walk-on quarterback Tommy Poholsky also entered the portal last month.
Sullivan included a brief two-word comment “let’s work” on his post on X in which he announced his commitment to Iowa.
Sullivan is from the state of Michigan and was recruited by current Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester when Lester was the head coach for Western Michigan.
Last season, Sullivan completed 63-of-99 passes for 714 yards, six touchdowns to two interceptions while playing as both a starter and as a backup. He is also a career 68.7-percent passer with a two-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also has ran for 257 yards in his collegiate career.
McNamara, who led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title and to the college playoff, is expected to receive medical clearance in June and is listed as the starting quarterback on the depth chart.
But he now faces some stiff competition once he gets healthy.
Sullivan was in position to be Northwestern’s starting quarterback next season, and yet, he still entered the transfer portal and will now compete for the starting job at Iowa.
He has two seasons of eligibility.