When a 3-yard dump-off to tight end Johnny Pascuzzi looked like just another three yards, Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan’s mind jumped right to what his father taught him.

Once Pascuzzi turned to collect more yards, Sullivan’s football foundation returned to his conscience. And he took off, putting the speed of his dual-threat style of play to use in a different manner against his former team. 

This time, it was darting ahead of Pascuzzi and pushing his momentum into Northwestern defensive back Devin Turner with a lead block, giving the tight end an extra handful of yards. Five seconds and 40 yards later, the Hawkeyes were inside Northwestern’s 20-yard line, ready to extend the lead of what would become a 40-14 Iowa victory. 

No longer the scrawny, 180-pound teenager and high-major hopeful, Sullivan is now Iowa’s starting quarterback — 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, strong, and confident. And he uses his size to his advantage, never afraid to rush out of the pocket, get dirty, and chirp at whomever once the play is over.

Former Los Angeles Laker Nick Young once famously declared his ink-less right arm was “strictly for buckets,” not for tattoos. It appears the blank right arm on Sullivan, opposite a full sleeve of his tattoos on the left, is strictly for throwing a football. Or, more often, running with it. And taking any hard hit given him, even if that requires him to lead block. Whatever it takes to win the game.

“It’s something about how I was raised,” Sullivan said. “How my dad taught me to play the game is with full effort. Give all your energy, all your effort, and control the controllables.”

Although Sullivan first thought his path to college athletics was basketball — defending his assertion that he’s the best hooper on the Iowa team, with a laugh and a smile —  it became clear football was the better option in his junior year at Davison High School.

After a stint at wide receiver, Sullivan flipped to quarterback and earned an all-state nod as a junior. He led Davison to its first-ever Michigan Division I state championship, throwing for 14-of-19 for 290 yards and a touchdown at Ford Field in the title game.

Sullivan compiled 3,044 yards, 33 touchdowns, and a 21-2 record as a starting quarterback. He was ranked the 55th quarterback in the class of 2021, which included the likes of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Chicago Bears star Caleb Williams.

“Just a couple of games into my junior year, I started getting college coaches texting me, and I was like, ‘What the heck is going on?’” Sullivan said. “I’m not used to this. I thought I was going to be a basketball player, so that’s what hit me and made me start taking [football] a lot more seriously.”

Where Sullivan held mid-major offers from the likes of Akron, Ball State, Buffalo, and Western Michigan, he committed to coach Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern three days after he was offered.

There, after redshirting in 2021, the Wildcats thrust him into game action the next season; he saw five games after making his debut against Wisconsin. In that contest, he threw for 114 passing yards — the most by a Northwestern quarterback in a college debut since 2002.

In his first career start that season, he completed 18 of 24 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Sullivan played eight games in 2023, completing 63 of 99 passes for 714 yards and six touchdowns, as well as rushing 75 times for 160 yards and two more touchdowns.

Sullivan showed his ability to place the long ball in the right spot, make the right play under pressure, improvise, and follow a lead block and take a hit. He threw for 10 touchdowns and 1,303 yards with just five interceptions.

Entering 2024, with the Iowa offense reshaping, Sullivan joined wide receiver Jacob Gill in transferring to play for the Hawkeyes — and trusting his faith along the way.

“You don’t have a guarantee to play anywhere you go,” he said. “My Lord and Savior — he’s given me the amount of faith and trust in myself to be able to go out there every day and just believe in myself and really take advantage of it when my number is called.”

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz first caught Sullivan on his radar when watching film of Northwestern last season.

“One thing I’m really impressed with is the fact that he got here that late and was able to learn … as quickly as he did,” Ferentz said. “That’s part of the benefit of being an older guy too, and he’s a smart guy. He works hard.”

Immediately upon arriving in Iowa City, Sullivan was leading his teammates and sprints, and they rallied around him. Even when he took a hard hit in his first week of practice, his offensive teammates swarmed to protect him as Sullivan talked back to the defense.

“Funny, though, it’s a bold move for a guy who shows up in June,” center Logan Jones said. “[He was] announcing his presence on authority like that.”

Now you won’t hear a teammate refer to Sullivan by anything other than “Sully.”

Sullivan gave starting quarterback Cade McNamara a test for his job. McNamara prevailed, but when he had his down days, many Hawkeye fans called for Sullivan instead.

“Brendan’s done a great job of playing his role,” Jones said. “We’ve used him well, and he’s done a great job. And I think now he’s got a great opportunity to go out there and play at a high level.”

Sullivan’s role through the first half of the season took advantage of his dual-threat capacity. Featured in the red zone, he refused to just sit in the pocket and opted to get mobile when he felt the pocket collapse.

Iowa was 7-for-7 in red zone scoring opportunities with Sullivan — six touchdowns and a field goal. His first pass attempt against Troy was a 2-yard touchdown flip to Addison Ostrenga, and he immediately celebrated as he held one finger up and ran ahead.

He scored his first rushing touchdown against Minnesota and second against Michigan State. On the latter, a high snap removed the run option to running back Kaleb Johnson, so his quick thinking brought him to scramble right and waltz into the end zone untouched, pulling the Hawkeyes within five.

“It’s all about timing,” Sullivan said. “If I get through my first couple of reads, I’m feeling like I’m off timing or I feel like something’s breaking down in the pocket, I’ll try and get out of there and look to pass first. I’m seeing those guys going downfield, breaking coverage, and then I’m trying to use my feet as a last resort.”

Sullivan’s threat on the ground makes it much harder on defenses to contain what he makes a flexible offense.

“When you’ve got a guy who can break away and run forever … it definitely opens things up,” Jones said. “It’s harder on defenses to have to guard inside zone, outside zone, then a quarterback who can possibly pull it, and then the pass game as well.”

With McNamara’s inconsistent, on-and-off play, Sullivan’s flexible playstyle looked increasingly attractive.

After McNamara struggled to complete the proper read and place passes on open receivers against Michigan State in what became a painful 32-20 loss, fans were as loud as ever in demanding Sullivan take over. But it seemed Ferentz wouldn’t budge.

“Probably the biggest thing is it’s easier to talk about putting somebody in a game than just doing, especially at that position,” Ferentz said at his midweek press conference after the loss. “I think [McNamara] has done enough good things to where we have the confidence that he’ll play well Saturday … And when Brendan gets an expanded role, or if he gets an expanded role, I think he’ll do well.”

The stars aligned when McNamara took a hard shot mid-throw against Northwestern the following week and threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on the next possession. Thereafter, Hawkeye fans had reached their brink; the air sucked right out of 70,000 fans as McNamara trotted back to the sideline with a blank face.

And Kinnick Stadium roared as Sullivan entered the game on Iowa’s ensuing possession. But with three straight three-and-outs, it seemed the offensive woes were only continuing.

Then Sullivan let his dual threat skills shine and refused to let the “protect yourself first” quarterback mantra rule him too much, keeping his head up but sprinting and pressing hard forward on his rushes.

By the end of the 40-14 win over the Wildcats, Sullivan completed 9-of-14 passes for 79 yards, and a 111.7 passer rating, adding 41 yards rushing and a diving touchdown.

But with two minutes left and the Hawkeyes up big, Sullivan didn’t take his helmet off. He talked his progress over with his coaches and with Gill before firing his offense up in the huddle with a pep talk and taking the field.

That initiative to motivate his teammates showed Sullivan’s leadership qualities, especially as he led the block for Pascuzzi and turned the short pass into a big gain.

“It says something about his personality too, him wanting to get down there and help the play,” Ferentz said after the game. “He could have stood there and been a spectator, but he threw the ball and then he started basically trucking down the field. That to me was being a good teammate.”

Still, Ferentz wasn’t too pleased with Sullivan’s physicality, opting to protect what was looking like his starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

“If he’s going to run the ball, slide,” Ferentz said. “[I’d] just ask him to be smart. But you don’t want to harness the guy back or throttle him down too much. But, yeah, hopefully he’s old enough now to have good judgment when to do what you’ve got to do.”

The play did more than push the ball into the red zone — it lit a fire in his teammates.

“You want to play for a guy like that, so I love seeing that,” Jones said. “You don’t see quarterbacks do that very often.”

Sullivan spent much of the game talking smack to his former teammates on the Northwestern sideline, loving the chance to tell the defense when he’s playing well, but he stayed on the field afterward to greet them.

“It was weird all week, watching film and knowing exactly who these guys are,” Sullivan said after the game. “Nothing but tremendous respect for those guys across from us.”

One such postgame reconnection was with Wildcat running back Cam Porter, whom Sullivan calls his best friend. The two spent each day together while in Evanston, training in the offseason and pushing through the late nights, early mornings, highs, and lows. The two were even baptized together.

“I’m always talking about our dreams and our ambitions,” Sullivan said of Porter. “He’s someone that was a leader in my faith, in my life … So we just said a quick prayer together … I wish nothing but the best for him.”

And Sullivan hugged each member of his family before jogging up the tunnel, pausing abruptly and grinning ear-to-ear upon seeing Fitzgerald — his former coach, since gone from Northwestern, spending some weekends at Kinnick Stadium as his son is a quarterback commit. The two embraced tightly, locked in on one another and exchanging words like father and son, mentor and mentee.

“He’s the guy that believed in me out of high school and recruited me, so it’s just nothing but respect for him and his family,” Sullivan said. “He’s done nothing but amazing things.”

With McNamara sidelined with a concussion from the Northwestern game, Sullivan got his first start in 52 weeks. Facing off against Wisconsin, Sullivan stuck to his bedrock, to what he’s known best, completing 7-of-10 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown to fellow Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill. And he rushed nine carries for 58 yards to reach the end zone once again.

But what’s more is that he was just as gritty, just as willing to take a hit and pop back up, and just as willing to fight for those around him.

“That’s not something that I put too much weight on, honestly, is my stats,” Sullivan said. “We got the 42-10 win today, so that’s the only thing I care about.”