Iowa lands commitment from former Big Ten West starting quarterback

The Iowa Hawkeyes landed a commitment from former Northwestern starting quarterback Brendan Sullivan on Wednesday.

Sullivan surprisingly entered the transfer portal in late April after three years with the Wildcats. He was the team’s starter for a chunk of last season, completing 63.6% of his passes for 714 yards, 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was projected to be the full-time starter entering 2024.

Related: Post-spring Big Ten football 2024 power rankings, starting quarterback rankings

Iowa lands Sullivan as it prepares for an important 2024 campaign. Five-year veteran Cade McNamara is back for a final season after missing much of 2023 with a leg injury. He projects to be the starter, though Sullivan could push him for that job.

The Hawkeyes recently saw backup Deacon Hill enter the portal during the spring window, so there was likely some writing on the wall that another quarterback could be entering the room.

Iowa needs to re-shape the position group after several putrid years of offensive production. The program hired Tim Lester to be its offensive coordinator this offseason and expect him to improve the unit from where it was under Brian Ferentz.

Sullivan has two years of eligibility remaining. If he doesn’t win the job this offseason, he’d almost-definitely be the Hawkeyes’ starter in 2025.

Wisconsin visits Iowa on November 2. This news now confirms the team will have better quarterback play than when the two teams met in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Hawkeyes have won the last two in the series and three of the last four.

For more on Wisconsin’s transfer portal activity this spring as Luke Fickell works to improve the roster, check out our 2024 spring transfer portal window tracker.

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Story originally appeared on Badgers Wire