Bye, bye, Brendan

[MeetTheFerentzes]

Actually a little surprised by this one. Thought he’d be a strong QB2 with playing time every game and was one play away from being QB1. I’m afraid we’re going to miss him more than any of the other plethora of QB’s that have left the last several years…

 

[ChiefRhoads]

Only one year to play and I am sure he would rather be a starter somewhere. I think it is good that he is entering now compared to after spring practice. This will allow Hank and Jimmy to get more reps since they will be the back ups come fall.

 

[Stoopsbrother]

To bad, but I think Hank Brown will be a fine #2

 

[CookyMonster]

Meh

 

[BirdistheWord]

I liked Sullivan. Man, if we could have had him instead of deacon a couple years ago.

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

I liked Sullivan. Man, if we could have had him instead of deacon a couple years ago.

Cue some dolt coming back with “We beat BS with DH in ‘23” as if he’s making some kind of brilliant ‘gotcha’ point….

 

[bansheexyz]

Damn, I really liked Sullivan. Not being qb1 last year was criminal, maybe cost us 2 games. I do think that Gronowski is the better passer, but since Iowa refuses to recruit good receivers or play Wetjen at receiver, that advantage will probably be nullified and we would've been better off bludgeoning people with a Sully/RB rpo attack. We'll see.

 

[93hawkeye]

A really talented QB like Banks or Beathard makes a difference in W-L. For most other QBs, the Iowa W-L recored is almost entirely determined by the defense.

 

[LUC8]

Sullivan was okay but didn’t seem like he was prepared to take this offense where it needs to go.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

It's a shame, but I don't blame him. Depth at QB for Iowa was probably not his plan.

QB room just got a little weaker.

 

[kwik44]

I think Iowa’s fine with the backup options, tbh.

Sullivan was a nice player, but pretty much capped in his ability to advance the offense.

Brown had in game experience in the SEC & is a gifted passer, and Stratton is still young & has some reasonable playing time as well. Should be fine at QB this year.

 

[GunnerHawk]

So Brown, Stratton and our freshman get a lot more reps this spring as the QB room prepares for the future. Not an awful result.

 

[Max_Rebo]

The days of career backups are over. Best-case scenario most years will be one “proven” starter and a handful of inexperienced backups with “potential” … pretty much what we have going into next fall.

 

[herkyhawk00]

Actually a little surprised by this one. Thought he’d be a strong QB2 with playing time every game and was one play away from being QB1. I’m afraid we’re going to miss him more than any of the other plethora of QB’s that have left the last several years…

You are surprised that he left considering he is going into his senior year and the coaches brought in Gronowski, also a senior, who has an impressive history as a winning qb? He didn’t even get the opportunity to compete against Gronowski in spring ball. Yeah, I’m not taking that chance either if I am Sullivan. Sullivan had 6 starts for us this season and I thought he brought a ton of excitement to the position we have not been see in a while. I think he saw the writing on the wall that everyone else was seeing.

 

[40010011]

We will regret losing Sullivan.

 

[BrotherHawkeye]

Weirdly I thought he might go through the year and if he didn’t play, he would use 2025 as a redshirt year and then take over in 2026.
Maybe that wasn’t even an option.

I agree, Iowa wins at least 2 more games last year if he had started all along. Because he did not get into the starting role until over halfway through the season, he didn’t have the advantage of the whole season to progress. Then he got hurt. I thought he was a good QB, and would have been better if he had started from the beginning.

 

[ObeseMuffins]

He couldn’t pass.

 

[Packer54]

We will regret losing Sullivan.

I highly doubt it........btw we did not lose him. He was not going to be the starter so he left. That is CFB right now, Best to get used to it.
Hell the Tennessee QB is "holding out" for a better contract......it is a brave new and stupid world. There isn't CFB at this level any more. It is semi-pro garbage.

 

[BirdistheWord]

A really talented QB like Banks or Beathard makes a difference in W-L. For most other QBs, the Iowa W-L recored is almost entirely determined by the defense.

Sully could move the sticks, his ability to create with his legs was a difference maker. He was not going to be the starter but liked having him as an option.

 

[Kraven Moorehead]

I liked Sully. He’s tough. My issue with him at QB was how incredibly quick he was to dump the pocket. He never stepped up into pocket.

 

[naturalbornhawk]

Actually a little surprised by this one. Thought he’d be a strong QB2 with playing time every game and was one play away from being QB1. I’m afraid we’re going to miss him more than any of the other plethora of QB’s that have left the last several years…

Dang I really liked Sullivan. I thought he was the best option Iowa's had for winning games for the past couple years, and I thought he had a pretty decent chance at playing time this next season. I do understand his decision and I wish him nothing but the best.

 

[BonzoFury]

Hate to see him go. Fortunately, we have more quality depth than at this time last year.

 

[BuschLattes06]

I wish him well and understand why he's leaving since it's his final year of eligibility. Honestly with the new 105 roster cap it's harder to justify keeping non-starter 5th year seniors at the expense of younger guys. We've got some young walk ons and developmental guys fighting for spots.

 

[stickman80]

We will regret losing Sullivan.

We will regret not losing Ferentz.

 

[jonesy5960]

Hmmm... Iowa needs a viable QB2. I hope this is as much a reflection of who's staying as anything else.

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

You are surprised that he left considering he is going into his senior year and the coaches brought in Gronowski, also a senior, who has an impressive history as a winning qb? He didn’t even get the opportunity to compete against Gronowski in spring ball. Yeah, I’m not taking that chance either if I am Sullivan. Sullivan had 6 starts for us this season and I thought he brought a ton of excitement to the position we have not been see in a while. I think he saw the writing on the wall that everyone else was seeing.

So much for his claim that he welcomes competition. I guess that means only if he wins. I think he had a really great situation at Iowa being QB2 likely with lots of playing time and being counted on to replace an injury-prone QB1. I don’t know where he’ll end up, but I doubt he will be clear QB1 at a P4 school; maybe not even a quality G5 program with his missing all of spring ball. On paper, we still have our strongest QB room in the post-Stanley era, but our offense was the most exciting it’s been in 5 years with BSully under center, so it’s tough to watch him go…

 

[Ladell-hawk]

Damn, I really liked Sullivan. Not being qb1 last year was criminal, maybe cost us 2 games. I do think that Gronowski is the better passer, but since Iowa refuses to recruit good receivers or play Wetjen at receiver, that advantage will probably be nullified and we would've been better off bludgeoning people with a Sully/RB rpo attack. We'll see.

Our receivers are better than you give them credit for. In addition to Wetjen, we have Jacob Gill who is our best receiver. Add young guys like Vander Zee, Dayton Howard, Buie and KJ Parker . Maybe Seth Anderson can stay healthy this season, if so he will help as well. Terrence Smith is an incoming freshman WR who is 6’4” . Our coaches think highly of his potential. So overall the WR room is looking up. If Gronowski comes in and passes like we hope he does, our WR’s should do quite well. Go Hawks !

 

[herkyhawk00]

So much for his claim that he welcomes competition. I guess that means only if he wins. I think he had a really great situation at Iowa being QB2 likely with lots of playing time and being counted on to replace an injury-prone QB1. I don’t know where he’ll end up, but I doubt he will be clear QB1 at a P4 school; maybe not even a quality G5 program with his missing all of spring ball. On paper, we still have our strongest QB room in the post-Stanley era, but our offense was the most exciting it’s been in 5 years with BSully under center, so it’s tough to watch him go…

It’s different if he was competing against him in the spring and being able to gauge head to head. Iowa didn’t bring in Gronowski to sit.

 

[CRWash63]

I like Sullivan too - he was not afraid to sacrifice his body for a Hawkeye touchdown or first down. I wish him well.

 

[AEG82]

I liked him. Not a great QB by any means but the best we've had in about 5 years or so. He might have been better than Stanley given the same opportunity and quality around him but his timeframe was obviously much shortened. I mean, look at the WRs he had at his disposal. Our guys have some significant disadvantages compared to most teams. It's just a statistical fact. ISM and Charlie are the only good WRs we've had in about a decade that I can think of. Obviously we have TEs but it doesn't appear that Lester makes them a priority. Better hope we start upping our quality at WR and don't misuse the hidden gems we may have like Charlie (who was obvious to me after seeing his highlights at Buffalo). You can't fake what he did. That's just talent and vision. I have faith in Lester though after last season though. I doubt he would keep Charlie from playing like you know who did.

 

[2D_]

Thought about making a thread about it, but with Sully gone and Mark only having one year, does that mean Hank Brown is the future of our offense? How many reps can we get him this year? 3 of our first 4 opponents are bottom feeders. Can we run up the score and rest Mark by the middle of the third, and get Hank some experience? He'll need all he can get.

 

[GunnerHawk]

I liked Sully. He’s tough. My issue with him at QB was how incredibly quick he was to dump the pocket. He never stepped up into pocket.

Exactly, he had happy feet that got him in trouble. If you watched the UCLA game, their defense wanted him to run and their safeties put a licking on him. Eventually knocked him out of the game. He took some Bob Sanders type hits.

 

[GunnerHawk]

Thought about making a thread about it, but with Sully gone and Mark only having one year, does that mean Hank Brown is the future of our offense? How many reps can we get him this year? 3 of our first 4 opponents are bottom feeders. Can we run up the score and rest Mark by the middle of the third, and get Hank some experience? He'll need all he can get.

Should get a lot of reps with the ones this spring.

 

[NCHawkeye24]

This is just a reflection of the new pay to play atmosphere. I don't think it is a wise strategic decision to put your eggs in the qb development basket anymore. I think it is much more obvious this is a year-to-year situation and long term planning is useless. So saying that, no matter the budget, a team is going to have to budget for qb1 and the more you pay here the better you will be and then devote a much smaller amount to qb2. Beyond qb2 has to be no pay players. Even if you have 3 guys you like, it is only smart to pay 2 of them and go through the season that way.

I wish Sullivan well and hope he can go get a little money and a starting gig somewhere in a mac or mountain west school or something like that.

 

[BirdistheWord]

I liked him. Not a great QB by any means but the best we've had in about 5 years or so. He might have been better than Stanley given the same opportunity and quality around him but his timeframe was obviously much shortened. I mean, look at the WRs he had at his disposal. Our guys have some significant disadvantages compared to most teams. It's just a statistical fact. ISM and Charlie are the only good WRs we've had in about a decade that I can think of. Obviously we have TEs but it doesn't appear that Lester makes them a priority. Better hope we start upping our quality at WR and don't misuse the hidden gems we may have like Charlie (who was obvious to me after seeing his highlights at Buffalo). You can't fake what he did. That's just talent and vision. I have faith in Lester though after last season though. I doubt he would keep Charlie from playing like you know who did.

Generally agree though Brandon Smith, Tevaun Smith, Nick Easley were very good

 

[QChawks]

Iowa football = where QBs go to die

 

[eyesofhawk]

Damn, I really liked Sullivan. Not being qb1 last year was criminal, maybe cost us 2 games. I do think that Gronowski is the better passer, but since Iowa refuses to recruit good receivers or play Wetjen at receiver, that advantage will probably be nullified and we would've been better off bludgeoning people with a Sully/RB rpo attack. We'll see.

Lol, he would have gotten himself hurt before the 3rd game. Coaches said they couldn't reign him in (to play smart) if they tried.

Guy was an airhead. Could be argued he cost Iowa the UCLA game.

One of the more overrated players in a while. Why? Fans love them some backup QB

 

[CookyMonster]

I liked Sullivan. Man, if we could have had him instead of deacon a couple years ago.

I dunno he doesn't have great instincts. That UCLA game was brutal to watch. He was running into bone crushing hits. He likely gets injures early on.

 

[TheRealHerky]

I really liked Sullivan. He brought a dynamic we haven’t seen at the QB position at Iowa in a long time. That being said, he was clearly getting a little gun shy after taking some big hits when running. He was a good passer, but not a great one. He will be missed and I hope he lands somewhere good.

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

Yep. No surprise. From listening to Lester, accuracy is the thing he preaches as the #1 most desirable attribute in a QB. He has talked about the importance of staying in the pocket, going through progressions, reading the defense, and not bailing at the first sign of pressure to solely use athletic ability to try to create plays.

Brendan had "backyard football" capability in spades. We all saw it repeatedly. But he certainly wasn't a pillar of accuracy, and perhaps he didn't possess a sufficient grasp of and/or desire to learn and incorporate some of those other more cerebral parts of quarterbacking.