Iowa football has added a new quarterback to the room.
On Wednesday, Northwestern transfer quarterback Brendan Sullivan announced his commitment to Iowa.
He has two years of eligibility remaining.
This was a much-needed boost to the quarterback room for Iowa as it provides depth and an insurance policy at the backup quarterback spot behind Cade McNamara.
Sullivan has Big Ten experience and has been successful in a number of starts, which is a major step up.
Here are four things to know about Sullivan.
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Iowa wanted to go after a quarterback in the transfer portal with experience and of all the quarterbacks in the transfer portal who seemed realistic, Sullivan checked all of the boxes.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound quarterback completed 69% of his passes with the Wildcats, totaling 1,303 yards and 10 touchdowns with five interceptions over the course of two seasons. He also showcased an ability to gain yards with his legs, rushing the ball 129 times for 257 yards and two touchdowns the past two seasons.
He has two years of eligibility remaining and has started 12 games for the Wildcats the last two years.
Sullivan had a PFF passing grade of 58.6 last season. The year prior, he had a passing grade of 61.7, with a completion percentage of 74 percent as he completed 71-of-96 passes for 589 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions.
In addition to Cade McNamara, Iowa has more starting quarterback experience in the Big Ten in the room, which the Hawkeyes needed with McNamara’s injury history. Sullivan will also make the room better and will have a chance to start in 2024, while also being the frontrunner to start in 2025.
Sullivan’s best performance last season was against Maryland. He completed 16-of-23 passes for 265 yards, two touchdowns, and also ran for 56 yards while being sacked five times.
That’ll do.
Sullivan also had a broken sternum in the 2022 season after taking a big hit in the pocket.
Sullivan is a product of Davison, Michigan, and was a three-star quarterback coming out of high school.
Sullivan was mainly being recruited by MAC schools until Indiana and Northwestern came in and offered, and he eventually took the offer from the Wildcats.
One of the MAC schools that was recruiting him heavily was Western Michigan, and the head coach of Western Michigan at the time was now Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
Lester has seen Sullivan as a great fit in Western Michigan’s offense and now he is the type of quarterback to help put the Iowa quarterback room in a better place under the direction of Lester.
Here is Sullivan’s high school scouting report, via Allen Trieu of 247Sports.
“Sullivan offers a lot of tools here. He has above average size, is a good athlete who can make plays with his feet and solid arm talent. On top of that, I really like the intangibles of a guy who can be a leader on the football field and on the basketball court. He took a team who had never won a state title to the Division I state title. That definitely counts for something. Having seen him throw in person, I always wondered why more Power Five schools had not jumped in. Indiana and Northwestern were smart and the Wildcats get a guy here who I actually compare some to their recent transfer Peyton Ramsey, who is also a guy with some athleticism and intangibles.”
In two starts against Iowa, Sullivan has performed well.
While neither were a win, you have to respect his performance against one of the best defenses in college football. In two starts against Iowa, Sullivan has completed 35-of-49 passes with three touchdowns and one interception.
Sullivan completed 23-of-30 passes for 159 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the 2022 loss to the Hawkeyes, and was making strong reads and giving the Iowa defense issues in the 2023 game at Wrigley Field.
You take a chance on someone who can make plays against the Iowa defense.
Sullivan can be described as a great leader.
It started in high school where he was a multi-sport athlete and helped push the Davison to new heights.
Here is a snippet from high school on Sullivan.
“In Sullivan, the Wildcats get a good athlete who also stood out on the basketball court, but more importantly, a leader with strong intangibles. He took Davison to their first state championship in school history in the fall of his junior season.”
Here is a good example of what type of teammate Sullivan is, too.
“Proud of the way Sully came in,” Northwestern head coach David Braun said in the fall. “You take stock in everything; everything’s being evaluated… We talk about owning our roles, well, Brendan Sullivan has owned his role throughout camp and moving forward into prep for Rutgers. That doesn’t mean that Sully has to be satisfied with his role.”
“My goals are to help this team out as best as possible. My goals are to win as a team,” Sullivan added. “I want to win a Big Ten Championship. Whatever my role is in that — this year, it’s being a backup. This year, it’s helping my team out as best as possible off the field, and then a little bit on the field. So, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Sullivan is not guaranteed to be the starting quarterback for Iowa this fall with Cade McNamara still in the room, but he’s going to be a great leader and quarterback to add to the roster.
Sullivan’s father, Mike, was a three-year letterman on the offensive line at the University of Michigan in the 1990’s.
There are a lot of strong bloodlines in the Sullivan family, starting with his father. It’s interesting to see that a former Michigan offensive lineman had a son who became a Big Ten quarterback. Still, there is a lot of moxie with Sullivan at the quarterback position, as we mentioned previously. Those intangibles his father passed down to him have helped him become a talented football player.
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