Former Northwestern QB Will Officially Face Off Against Wildcats in Week 1
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On August 30, Northwestern will head to New Orleans, Louisiana, to open its 2025 football season against Tulane. The Wildcats will now see a familiar face on the opposing sideline, and potentially starting under center.
Former Northwestern quarterback Brendan Sullivan announced in a social media post on Thursday morning that he'd be transferring to Tulane for his graduate year. He will likely compete for the Green Wave's starting QB role.
— Brendan Sullivan (@bsully02) April 24, 2025
Sullivan began his career at Northwestern in 2021, then started four games and made five appearances for the 'Cats in 2022. The Wildcats went 1-11 that season, but Sullivan completed 74% of his passes for 589 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions before suffering a season-ending injury against Minnesota.
The following year, Sullivan was in and out of the lineup as starting QB Ben Bryant battled injuries. Sully appeared in eight games, passing for 714 yards, six touchdowns and two picks, and helped the 'Cats reach bowl eligibility with wins over Howard and Maryland. Against the Terrapins, Sullivan posted a career-high 321 total yards, including 265 passing.
Sullivan transferred to Iowa for the 2024 season, where he started three games and played in 10. He completed 71.7% of his passes with three touchdowns and three picks, but also added four rushing scores. Sullivan led Iowa to a 40-14 win over Northwestern in October and eventually brought the Hawkeyes to the Music City Bowl, a 27-24 loss to Missouri.
Now playing for his third school in as many years, Sullivan will look to take down Northwestern for the second time in six games.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.
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