Tag: Brendan Sullivan

Iowa leaning one way at starting QB vs. Missouri

Iowa has an idea of who will be its starting QB vs. Missouri, but the Hawkeyes will let a competition play out until then.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz will let the bowl prep play out, but he has an idea of who will likely be under center for the Hawkeyes when they take the field against the Missouri Tigers in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on Monday, Dec. 30.

Ferentz said this week that he will let redshirt junior Brendan Sullivan and redshirt sophomore Jackson Stratton compete over the next several weeks to determine who Iowa’s starting signal-caller will be. But, the edge is with Sullivan right now.

“Yeah, we’ll let that go. Yeah, we’ll let them both practice and see what happens. If I had a guess right now, I’d probably say Brendan will be the starter, but we’ll see. We’ll let them both work and see how it all goes,” Ferentz said.

Sullivan has played in nine games this season and started for the Hawkeyes against Wisconsin and UCLA. In Iowa’s 42-10 win over Wisconsin, Sullivan completed 7-of-10 passes for 93 yards with a touchdown pass. Sullivan also carried nine times for 58 yards against the Badgers.

Then, in Iowa’s 20-17 loss against UCLA on Nov. 8, Sullivan completed 6-of-9 passes for 157 yards and was intercepted twice before exiting with an ankle injury.

Sullivan suited up but didn’t play in Iowa’s regular season finale against Nebraska.

Ferentz said that Sullivan is much better physically now than he was during the Hawkeyes’ regular season finale against the Huskers.

“He’s a week better than he was for the Nebraska game and he moved around just fine on Friday. This time is really valuable for him. I say this somewhat jokingly, but hopefully nobody steps on him or does something stupid there. We’ll try to keep him out of harm’s way, but this is really valuable time for him.

“He’s a great young guy, a great young prospect. He hasn’t played a lot still, that’s the reality of it. So, this window of opportunity is really big for him just like it is for Jackson. Really looking forward to having a chance where they can get some really quality reps in and hopefully keep moving forward,” Ferentz said.

Stratton relieved Sullivan in Iowa’s loss at UCLA and directed a touchdown drive. The walk-on transfer from Colorado State started each of Iowa’s final two regular season games at Maryland and versus Nebraska.

Stratton completed 10-of-14 passes for 76 yards in Iowa’s 29-13 win at Maryland and 8-of-15 passes for 115 yards in the Hawkeyes’ walk-off win over Nebraska. That included Stratton’s 72-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Kaleb Johnson.

With graduate Cade McNamara, redshirt freshman Marco Lainez and freshman James Resar all entering the transfer portal, Iowa’s quarterback room is down to just Sullivan and Stratton against Missouri.

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Cade McNamara, Brendan Sullivan both practicing ahead of Nebraska contest

Ahead of its date versus Nebraska, quarterbacks Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan are each back practicing for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz revealed on Tuesday that both graduate quarterback Cade McNamara and junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan are back practicing ahead of the Hawkeyes’ Friday date versus Nebraska in their regular season finale.

Still, Ferentz confirmed that walk-on-redshirt sophomore quarterback Jackson Stratton remains Iowa’s starter headed into Friday versus the Huskers.

McNamara has been sidelined since suffering a concussion during Iowa’s 40-14 win over Northwestern on Oct. 26. Sullivan replaced McNamara as the Hawkeyes’ quarterback following McNamara’s injury and started an Iowa win over Wisconsin on Nov. 2.

Sullivan also started in the Hawkeyes’ 20-17 loss on Nov. 8 at UCLA. Sullivan exited that contest with an ankle injury and hasn’t played since.

“Seems to be feast or famine. We had all three guys out there last two days. They both look good. The guys that haven’t been in there, Cade and Brendan, are both practicing. An interesting dynamic.

“Went from Max White being No. 2 to he’s been pushed out to the No. 4. He’s not real happy right now. He’s done a great job. Real credit to him. He’s been a great team player for us,” Ferentz said of his team’s quarterback situation.

Ferentz said both McNamara and Sullivan look good physically, but that Iowa is still sorting out which of the two will serve as the Hawkeyes’ backup quarterback against the Huskers.

“So far so good. Obviously there’s some skepticism yesterday from me going to practice. But he’s handling everything well. He looks good. We’ll see how it goes this week.

“It’s a tight week. We don’t have a lot of practice time on the field. Cade looks fine. Keep our fingers crossed that both of them will be ready to go, then we’ll figure out the batting order going from there,” Ferentz said.

Stratton performed well in Iowa’s 29-13 win at Maryland last week. The 6-foot-4, 193 pound quarterback completed 10-of-14 passes for 76 yards in his first career start.

Ferentz said the hope is that Stratton can take Iowa start to finish against Nebraska.

“I hope it’s one start to finish and everything goes really well. I mean, but sometimes that’s wishful thinking.

“We’re not planning on any rotation. It’s only Tuesday right now. We have some talking to do as a staff. I don’t foresee that right now. I think we’re going to try to go start to finish. We’ll end up doing what’s best for the team in our opinion, what’s going to give us the best chance to win here,” Ferentz said.

If Iowa does have to turn to either McNamara or Sullivan, the Hawkeyes have an experienced pair of quarterbacks waiting in the wings.

In eight games and eight starts this season, McNamara has completed 60.5% of his passes for 1,017 yards and six touchdowns against five interceptions. Sullivan has completed 68.6% of his passes this season for 344 yards with a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

Kickoff on Friday, Nov. 29 against Nebraska is set for 6:30 p.m. CT with the game televised on NBC from inside Kinnick Stadium.

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Iowa QB Brendan Sullivan expected to miss remainder of season with ankle injury

The hits just keep coming to the Iowa quarterback depth chart.

The hits just keep on coming to the Iowa Hawkeyes and their quarterback depth chart. After injuries put them in a precarious situation over the last few weeks, they get another blow.

This time, junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan is plagued by the injury bug. Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reports that Sullivan is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season due to an ankle injury.

Brendan Sullivan, who came in for the relief of Cade McNamara, had started the Hawkeyes’ last two games. He exited Iowa’s most recent game against UCLA after getting beaten up with some big hits.

On the year, Sullivan has gone 24-of-35 for 344 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions. He has added 144 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

This injury leaves Iowa’s quarterback room extremely thin. Cade McNamara is working his way back from a concussion and it is still to be determined if he is healthy enough to go this week. Another backup Marco Lainez is also out with a broken hand suffered in practice a few weeks ago.

If he is not, the Hawkeyes will turn to walk-on quarterback Jackson Stratton, who was thrust into action against UCLA and performed admirably in an impossible spot.

James Resar has since moved to receiver as well. If McNamara is unable to go, Iowa would have just one quarterback active on their roster in Jackson Stratton.

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Tim Lester discusses if he would start Cade McNamara or Brendan Sullivan

Given a clean bill of health, who would Tim Lester start at quarterback for the Hawkeyes?

The Iowa Hawkeyes find themselves in a bit of a quarterback conundrum once again and, unfortunately, it is not due to play, but rather injuries plaguing both graduate Cade McNamara and junior Brendan Sullivan.

McNamara has been out with a concussion and missed the last two games while Sullivan exited the UCLA game due to injury. The one silver lining is that the Hawkeyes have a bye week to get them both healthy.

But, if they are healthy, the starter is still an unknown. In an effort to see who would start, offensive coordinator Tim Lester was asked who he would start if both were healthy.

“I would let them compete. It would be a great week. It would be like a real live, you know, ‘You guys have both done a lot of great things and you affect our offense differently. Let’s see who’s playing well.’ It would be a great battle. I wish that was the case, but rarely is that the case. Camp’s like the one time that you can have a real live competition. But, I don’t think that’s going to be the case. My guess is that’s not going to be the case this week,” Lester told the media.

Lester took the smart path here with a diplomatic answer on who he would hand the keys to.

Reading between the lines of Lester’s comments, it sounds like the starting quarterback will be a forced hand due to lingering injuries plaguing the quarterback depth.

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Three stars from Iowa’s dominant win over Wisconsin

Three stars from Iowa football’s dominant win over Wisconsin.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) dominated the Wisconsin Badgers (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) by a resounding 42-10 score from Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

The victory over the Badgers closes the gap in the all-time series even more, as Wisconsin now leads 49-47-2. Additionally, Iowa improved to 9-10 in the battle for the Heartland Trophy, which has been awarded to the winner between the two programs since 2004.

Under the primetime lights of Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes’ offense exploded for 422 total yards and punter Rhys Dakin pinned the Badgers’ offense deep in their own territory numerous times throughout the night.

With a blowout victory over the Badgers in the books, here are the Hawkeyes’ three stars that aided the team to victory.

Kaleb Johnson

Kaleb Jonson was electric versus Wisconsin by racking up 135 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. The junior running back was the bell cow Kirk Ferentz went to often to keep the Hawkeyes’ offense in the groove for most of the night.

His first touchdown on the night was highlight reel material as he rumbled into the end zone untouched from the Wisconsin 16-yard line in the second quarter.

The three scores and 135 rushing yards now gives Johnson 20 touchdowns and 1,279 rushing yards on the season.

Brendan Sullivan

Sullivan made his first career start in a Hawkeye uniform on Saturday as fellow quarterback Cade McNamara was unavailable with a concussion.

The junior transfer from Northwestern did not put up flashy numbers by any means but still got the job done when needed.

Sullivan finished the night by throwing for 93 yards and one touchdown on 7-of-10 completed passes. He also rushed for 58 yards and scored a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

While the offense funneled through Kaleb Johnson’s stellar rushing night, Sullivan’s performance proved to be a promising sight for Hawkeye fans as McNamara recovers.

Nick Jackson

Iowa’s stout defense held its ground against the Badgers by only allowing 261 yards of offense, but the highlight of the night defensively belonged to linebacker Nick Jackson.

With 4:35 left in the third quarter against a sputtering Badgers offense, Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke’s pass deflected off Jackson’s hands, bounced off his right foot and pinballed off the facemask of defensive lineman Brian Allen into the yawning arms of Jackson again.

Jackson returned the ball 28 yards to the Wisconsin 12-yard line, which led to a Jacob Gill 7-yard score a few plays later.

Along with the interception, Jackson finished with eight tackles.

Iowa will travel out West to Pasadena, Calif., for the next matchup on Friday as they take on Big Ten newcomer UCLA (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten) from the Rose Bowl. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. CT start and will air on Fox.

Friday’s game will be the first time since Sept. 18, 1987, that the Hawkeyes and Bruins face off in the Rose Bowl stadium. That game was won by UCLA 47-24.

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Photo gallery from Wisconsin football’s blowout loss to rival Iowa

Best photos from Wisconsin’s blowout loss to Iowa in Week 10

The Wisconsin Badgers lost to Iowa 42-10 on the road Saturday afternoon in Iowa City, Iowa. The loss was the team’s second in a row and they fell to 5-4 on the year and 3-3 in Big Ten play.

It was a truly uninspiring performance from Wisconsin. The Badgers were out-gained 422-261 in total, with the Hawkeyes compiling 330 rushing yards in the game. Running back Kaleb Johnson churned out 135 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. Quarterback Brendan Sullivan didn’t have to do too much through the air, completing seven of 10 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown while also adding 58 rushing yards and a touchdown.

For the Badgers, quarterback Braedyn Locke had an underwhelming performance, completing 15 of 29 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown while throwing two interceptions. Running back Tawee Walker was limited to under 100 yards for the second week in a row, producing just 52 yards on 16 carries in the loss.

Wisconsin will be idle in Week 11 before welcoming the No. 1 Oregon Ducks to Camp Randall Stadium on Nov. 16. In the meantime, here are the photos that tell the story of  Wisconsin’s crushing defeat in Iowa City:

Iowa football details QB depth behind Brendan Sullivan

Iowa’s quarterback depth chart is suddenly thin.

The biggest story surrounding the Iowa Hawkeyes this week has been the news that Brendan Sullivan was named the starting quarterback.

Coming in a close second is Iowa confirming that Cade McNamara will be out this Saturday due to a concussion he suffered in the second quarter of Iowa’s win over Northwestern.

With McNamara sidelined, Iowa’s quarterback depth chart looks drastically different than it has all year. Head coach Kirk Ferentz detailed what a backup plan for Brendan Sullivan looks like with the remaining quarterbacks rostered, redshirt freshman Marco Lainez and sophomore Jackson Stratton.

“Yeah, that’s really who’s left, and I won’t tell you who number four is right now and I hope you never find out. With all due respect, it’s a guy who played high school quarterback.

“But we’re basically out of guys. James Resar has moved to receiver and unfortunately he sustained an injury last week, so it’s a little bit ironic that all of a sudden it’s a thin pool. But we’ll go with the guys we got and find a way,” Ferentz said about the quarterback depth.

Lainez saw action for the Hawkeyes last year in mop-up duty for their bowl game against the Tennessee Volunteers. He was 2-of-7 passing for four yards, but he did showcase his mobility by running for 51 yards on six attempts.

Stratton, a transfer from Colorado State, joined Iowa as a walk-on heading into the 2024 season. He has not recorded any statistics for Iowa.

During his time at Colorado State, he was 4-of-17 for 78 yards with one touchdown against two interceptions.

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Kirk Ferentz talks relationship between Cade McNamara, Brendan Sullivan

Kirk Ferentz talked about the relationship between quarterbacks Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan amid the depth chart changes.

Although a depth chart is printed and published in black and white, it is far from that simple to manage the decisions, the players, and what the potential fallout could be from shuffling stuff.

This week saw the Iowa Hawkeyes shuffle the depth chart in the biggest of ways naming Brendan Sullivan their starter. He provided a jolt to Iowa last week and led them to a strong second half.

He came in after Cade McNamara left the contest and as reported recently, is dealing with a concussion which will keep him out of this Saturday’s game against Wisconsin.

Even with the injury, a new starting quarterback could set the stage for some awkward issues if not handled properly. Today, Kirk Ferentz discussed what the relationship between Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan is like and how it breeds success over awkwardness.

“I’m not privy to any of them, but I know all three of those guys have a good time together and they relate very well. They go back and forth all the time. As I said, Cade tried to sit through meetings yesterday and just couldn’t make it, wasn’t able to focus and all that stuff, which is not uncommon.

“But no, they all care about each other. They pull for each other. It’s been that way all season long, even when we started rotating Brendan in. All three of them, they’ve got a really good vibe.

“That’s what you hope for. You hope you have that kind of thing. It was funny, I was driving in this morning, they were talking about Russell Wilson and Fields and the chemistry they have, and I guess on TV last night they were showing those guys on the sideline talking and conversing, and it was Bill Polian and Solomon Wilcox just talking about what a good relationship. That’s what good teams have.

“Everybody wants to compete and everybody wants to win the job. That’s what you want every player to want. But also only one person is going to win it typically. Some positions you rotate. But you hope in each and every group and then groups across the way are good with each other. I think that’s a  trademark of a good team. Not that you love everybody; that’s not realistic. But everybody has got a respect and they get along.

“In the quarterback room, that’s a really healthy thing. They compete against each other all the time, but they’re all together, which is great. It’s fun,” Ferentz elaborated about the state of the quarterbacks.

Although out this weekend, McNamara has seen a lot of football, a lot of defenses, and can be an asset for Brendan Sullivan throughout the preparations for Wisconsin.

Cade McNamara is the veteran in a room of Brendan Sullivan, Marco Lainez, and Jackson Stratton, all of who will rely on his knowledge and pick his brain to help the Iowa Hawkeyes succeed.

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Iowa two-deep depth chart for Wisconsin game lists new starter at quarterback

Iowa two-deep depth chart for Wisconsin game lists new starter at quarterback

The Iowa Hawkeyes‘ permanent change from Cade McNamara to Brendan Sullivan at quarterback looks more and more likely.

The team’s game-week depth chart for its Week 10 matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers lists Sullivan as the starter, with redshirt freshman Marco Lainez listed as the backup.

Related: Wisconsin releases updated two-deep depth chart for Week 10 game vs. Iowa

This update comes after Iowa made an in-game switch from McNamara to Sullivan during its win over Northwestern. The team trailed 7-3 at the time of the change. Sullivan helped lead the Hawkeyes to score 37 unanswered points in the eventual 40-14 victory.

Sullivan, a former Northwestern transfer, finished the contest with 14 passing for 79 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a QBR of 74.8, while also adding 41 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz did not commit to a long-term change while speaking with the media postgame, saying “we’ll see on that” and “‘permanent’ is a strong word.”

The program’s updated depth chart, however, points to that change being made entering Saturday’s important game against the Badgers.

https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1850976877738889384

McNamara, a former Michigan transfer, was just 104 of 172 passing for 1,017 yards (127 yards per game), six touchdowns, five interceptions and a 37.1 QBR in 2024. The offense was much-improved over its struggles under former coordinator Brian Ferentz, but much of that can be attributed to the breakout of star RB Kaleb Johnson.

McNamara not presenting a threat in the passing game hurt the team in its blowout loss to Ohio State and road loss to Michigan State. Sullivan’s insertion into the lineup, meanwhile, gave the offense life it hasn’t had in five years.

Wisconsin’s task of stopping Iowa’s offense, let alone winning in a tough road environment, gets tougher with this news. Sullivan’s profile is similar to Penn State backup QB Beau Pribula, who gave the Badgers defense fits in the second half of the Nittany Lions’ 28-13 win.

The Badgers will need a dominant effort on both sides of the football for a win to become a possibility.

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Brendan Sullivan named QB1, Cade McNamara absent from Iowa football depth chart

Brendan Sullivan has been named Iowa’s starting QB. Marco Lainez is listed as his backup with Cade McNamara absent from the depth chart.

After a whirlwind of postgame theatrics and a few days of stewing on what the Iowa Hawkeyes may do, it appears that the decision has been made.

Brendan Sullivan will be the Iowa Hawkeyes’ starting quarterback this week when they host the Wisconsin Badgers for the Heartland Trophy rivalry game.

Sullivan came in last week in relief of Cade McNamara after he threw an interception returned for a touchdown and provided a spark to the Hawkeyes’ offense which included a runaway second half to bury Northwestern 40-14.

In relief, Sullivan went 9/14 for 76 yards as well as rushing for 41 yards and a score on the ground. His presence provided a noticeable lift to an otherwise stagnant offense and his mobility opened up lanes for Kaleb Johnson to run wild in the second half.

In an interesting turn of events, that may not be the entire story just quite yet, Cade McNamara is not listed on the depth chart behind Sullivan. Following Iowa’s win over Northwestern, head coach Kirk Ferentz did state that Cade McNamara was “shaken up” from a hit he had taken which could play factoring into this development.

Marco Lainez, the redshirt freshman from Princeton, New Jersey, who saw time in Iowa’s bowl game last season, is listed as the second-string quarterback behind Brendan Sullivan.

At this moment, Cade McNamara is still present on the roster on the official Iowa Hawkeyes football site.

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