Kirk Ferentz relying on Brendan Sullivan to guide quarterback room

IOWA CITY, Ia. — After starting spring practice this week, Iowa’s Coach Kirk Ferentz has his eyes on the quarterbacks for many reasons, and likes what he’s seeing so far.

There’s no denying that South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski is the headliner of the group. After all, he led the Jackrabbits to two National Championships. However, Ferentz emphasized that Gronowski will be very limited this spring, as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

That means Brendan Sullivan, and Auburn transfer Hank Brown will be taking most of the snaps through spring ball. Sullivan is listed atop the depth chart, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Unlike the rest of Iowa’s quarterback room, Sullivan has some Big Ten experience. He even spent three years at Northwestern, and appeared in 10 games for Iowa last season, including three starts.

Which is why Ferentz is expecting him to use all of his leadership qualities, and production to guide the group over the next few weeks.

“Can’t say enough about Brendan Sullivan, going back to June when he showed up last year,” Ferentz said. “His work ethic, just his personality, his leadership traits.”

Sullivan scored two touchdowns, and led Iowa to a blowout win over Wisconsin. He also came off the bench against Northwestern and led Iowa to a victory. The 22-year old left a lasting impression after completing 14 of his 18 passes for 131 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the Music City Bowl loss to Missouri. Sullivan even earned the offensive Team Hustle Award for his heroics on the gridiron, and that’s what Ferentz admires about him.

“Obviously Brendan is a heck of a lot more comfortable now with what we’re doing than he was a year ago,” he said. “He got here in June, and to me it’s amazing what he did pick up in a short amount of time.”

Brown brings valuable experience to the table too. The Tennessee native threw for four touchdowns, and no interceptions in Auburn’s win over New Mexico in 2024. Still, Hawkeye fans are excited about Gronowski in Iowa City. All eyes will be on him because he appears to be the missing piece to take the offense to the next level. Ferentz is being very cautious with Gronowski though, as his shoulder heals.

“Mark will be throwing lightly here probably in a couple weeks, but not with the team,” the 69-year old coach said. “The biggest thing right now is just make sure nobody runs into him, or he doesn’t fall down.”

Ferentz believes Gronowski is ahead of schedule with his rehabilitation, and he’s learning Tim Lester’s playbook, so the veteran coach finds it all encouraging. As for the rest of the quarterback room, it’s somewhat of a mystery where everybody stands right now.

Jackson Stratton, who led Iowa to a road win over Maryland last year, is still around. To some fans it’s a cause for concern that Sam Phillips, Jonah Pace, and Bryce Hawthorne were not listed on the initial spring depth chart. Regardless, there’s no need for panic to Ferentz, because he feels positive about all of his signal-callers.

They’re healthy, competing, learning, and most importantly, the Hawkeyes finally have quantity and quality at the position. Sullivan is picking up from where he left off, Brown is pushing him to be his best and Stratton remains on standby if needed.

“We’re just going to let those guys practice, play and all that kind of stuff, and then whenever Mark is able to join us back, and really we’re not going to be evaluating or competing until August, then we’ll go through that and just see what happens.”