University of Cincinnati quarterback transfer Ben Bryant won’t be moving all too far this summer. The redshirt senior quarterback out of Lagrance, Illinois, will be heading close to home for his final season of eligibility in 2023. He committed to the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday.
Bryant was Cincinnati’s starting quarterback this past season, completing 213-of-348 passing attempts for 2,732 yards and 21 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. In the process, the Bearcats went 9-4 on the season including 6-2 in AAC play before losing 24-7 in the Fenway Bowl.
For Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern, the commitment from Bryant is a major one. Last season, three quarterbacks had 40 or more passing attempts for the Wildcats Ryan Hillinski, Brenden Sullivan, and Cole Freeman.
All three quarterbacks had some struggles in the process. Hillinski completed 55.8% of his passes for 1,644 yards and six touchdowns while throwing seven interceptions, Sullivan completed a strong 74% of his passes but had three interceptions to just four touchdowns in the process. Finally, Cole Freeman struggled the most with just a 48.9% completion percentage while throwing five interceptions.
With the poor quarterback play, the Wildcats struggled mightily, averaging just 13.8 points on offense which ranked 128 out of 131 teams nationally, leading to a 1-11 overall record. Their only win on the season came in Ireland, in their season opener against Nebraska 31-28. The Wildcats have not won on American soil since October 16, 2021 against Rutgers 21-7.
Bryant should bring consistency and all-around strong play to the Wildcats next season.
Coming out of high school in the 2018 recruiting cycle, Bryant was a consensus three-star recruit who committed to Cincinnati over offers from Georgia, Ole Miss, and West Virginia as well as other Group of Five programs.