Northwestern quarterback transfer Brendan Sullivan schedules visit with Iowa football

IOWA CITY — Northwestern quarterback transfer Brendan Sullivan is scheduled to visit Iowa this week, his father Mike confirmed to the Register.

Sullivan and his father are scheduled to arrive in Iowa on Tuesday.

Sullivan has appeared in 13 games over the last two seasons for Northwestern. During that span, Sullivan went 134-of-195 passing for 1,303 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. Sullivan also rushed for three touchdowns.

Last season, Sullivan had a stint filling in for injured quarterback Ben Bryant. Sullivan played against Iowa last season in the game at Wrigley Field, passing for 81 yards against the Hawkeyes’ elite defense.

The best performance of Sullivan’s 2023 season came against Maryland. In that game, Sullivan threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He finished last season with a 63.6 completion percentage and 714 yards passing.

Iowa’s quarterbacks room is in dire need of reinforcement.

The Hawkeyes’ quarterback play was a disaster last season and it isn't set up to be in a much better position heading into the 2024 campaign. Joe Labas, Deacon Hill and walk-on Tommy Poholsky all entered the transfer portal.

As it stands now, Iowa is set to have just three quarterbacks on the roster in 2024. Cade McNamara has suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries and was limited this spring while getting fully healthy from his latest injury. Redshirt freshman Marco Lainez, who has attempted just seven passes in college, is still young and developing. James Resar is a signee in 2024 class but has not joined the team yet.

Iowa’s repeated offensive failures have led to a substantial amount of change on that side of the ball leading up to the 2024 season. Iowa hired ex-Western Michigan coach Tim Lester as offensive coordinator, taking over for Brian Ferentz. The program also moved on from wide receivers coach Kelton Copeland, internally promoting Jon Budmayr for that position.

Still, Iowa’s quarterbacks room looks shaky. The Hawkeyes are in need of some much-needed depth and talent.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com