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Michigan football reaches out to Iowa QB transfer Brendan Sullivan

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•04/18/25•

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Brendan Sullivan
Brendan Sullivan, an Iowa quarterback transfer, is a Michigan native. (Photo by Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)

Michigan Wolverines football has only two healthy quarterbacks this spring — sophomore Jadyn Davis and freshman Bryce Underwood — and five total in the room for the 2025 season. The Maize and Blue may go to the NCAA transfer portal for more talent, and head coach Sherrone Moore and Co. have expressed interest in Iowa quarterback transfer Brendan Sullivan, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Sullivan attended Davison (Mich.) High before beginning his college career at Northwestern (2021-23) and continuing it at Iowa (2024). Sullivan has one year of eligibility remaining and is in the portal as a graduate transfer.

Per Nakos, Sullivan will visit Tulane next week. He’s been in contact with Power Five schools, as well, including Michigan and Virginia Tech.

According to the On3 transfer portal rankings, Sullivan is the eighth-best available quarterback in the country.

Iowa added Auburn quarterback transfer Hank Brown in December, and he and Sullivan competed in the spring.

Sullivan has appeared in 23 games with eight starts over the last three seasons, after redshirting at Northwestern in 2021. In his career, he’s gone 172-of-248 passing (69.4 percent) for 1,778 yards and 13 touchdowns against 8 interceptions. He’s attempted 176 rushes for 407 yards and 7 scores.

Seeing action in 10 outings with three starts in 2024, Sullivan completed 38 of his 53 pass attempts (71.7 percent) for 475 yards and 3 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. His three starts came in the final three games of the year — versus Wisconsin, UCLA and Missouri.

Sullivan saw 30 of his 38 completions come on passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, with Iowa didn’t possess a dynamic passing attack even when starter Cade McNamara was healthy and behind center.

A dual-threat signal-caller, Sullivan rushed 47 times for 150 yards and 4 scores. Taking out sacks, Sullivan averaged 4.9 yards per carry — going for 202 yards on 41 attempts. He showed off some power, too, averaging 1.85 yards after contact per rush. Fifteen of his 41 non-sack rush attempts went for first downs.

Sullivan appeared in eight games with four starts during his final season at Northwestern in 2023. He opened games against Howard, Nebraska, Maryland and Iowa. Sullivan completed 63 of his 99 passes (63.6 percent) for 714 yards and 6 scores with 2 picks.

During his first season seeing game action for Northwestern in 2022, Sullivan appeared in five contests with four starts. One of the first memorable moments of his career came in a windy game against Ohio State Nov. 5 of that season. He connected on 10 of his 14 pass attempts for 79 yards and ran 12 times for 55 yards in a 21-7 loss that was tight most of the way.

In 2022, Sullivan completed 71 of his 96 asses (74 percent) for 589 yards and 4 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. He rushed 54 times for 97 yards and found pay dirt once on the ground.

A three-star recruit, Sullivan was the No. 743 overall player and No. 56 quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

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