Northwestern just completed perhaps its quietest spring practice on record. And that’s saying something at a program where spring ball barely registers above a whisper.
Then, on Tuesday morning, three days after their final open practice, senior quarterback Brendan Sullivan dropped a bombshell by entering the transfer portal. It was the equivalent of pulling the fire alarm at the University Library the night before final exams.
Sullivan was the presumed starter coming out of spring for the Wildcats. Ben Bryant, last year’s starter, is out of eligibility. So Sullivan, the perpetual No. 2 for the Wildcats, seemed to be next in line for the job.
He lost the battle for the starting job to a transfer in each of the last two fall camps, first to Ryan Hilinski in 2022, then to Bryant last season. Still, he started eight games in his career and threw for more than 1,000 yards. He had more experience than anyone on the roster.
New offensive coordinator Zach Lujan was widely expected to bring in a transfer quarterback at some point this spring, but now it’s an absolute necessity. The Wildcats can’t go into the season with a top three of Jack Lausch, Ryan Hilinski and Aidan Gray, who has yet to throw a pass at the college level.
The timing of Sullivan’s announcement tipped his hand at the real reason for his departure: he knew he wasn’t going to be the starter, no matter who the Wildcats brought in as a transfer. It also made clear that he wasn’t a fit for Lujan’s offense – and Lujan apparently was okay with letting him go. Lujan likes athletic QBs who can run, so Lausch is now the presumed No. 1 QB on the roster.
The Bible verse Sullivan quoted in his X post, Matthew 5:44, indicates he wasn’t happy with the outcome: It reads, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Regardless, it’s time to turn our attention to the future and who the Wildcats might bring in. Here are four potential candidates – though we know that, in all likelihood, NU’s next QB will likely be someone we haven’t even considered.
The No. 1 choice, of course, would be Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State. He ran Lujan’s offense and went 29-1 with two national championships over the last two seasons. For his career he has 7,590 yards passing, 1,387 yards rushing and a total of 97 touchdowns.
Gronowski would be better than a best-case scenario; more like perfect-case. He can throw, he can run, he knows Lujan’s offense inside and out, and he’s an outstanding student who will get his degree in mechanical engineering in May. He’s even from the Chicago area, prepping at Naperville (Ill.) Neuqua Valley.
The fly in the ointment: he has yet to even hint at transferring, and he just completed spring ball in Brookings. More ominously, multiple sources told WildcatReport that Gronowski isn’t coming to Evanston, so don't get your hopes up at this time. We'll consider him a longshot.
The other quarterback in the portal right now that has some history with NU is Mike Wright. Northwestern recruited the three-star QB for its Class of 2020, and he took an official visit to NU before committing to Vanderbilt. He spent three years at Vandy, then transferred to Mississippi State last year.
The rumor was that Wright was interested in Northwestern as a potential transfer destination but that NU’s staff didn’t reciprocate. In his career, the dual-threat Wright has played in 38 games, with 2,520 passing yards (24 TDs, 14 INTs) and 1,229 rushing yards.
However, it’s important to remember that all of that interest – and non-interest – came under previous offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian. Wright doesn't have any history with Lujan.
Steve Angeli from Notre Dame is another guy who’s not in the portal but potentially could be. The rising junior can’t be happy that the Irish went out and got Duke’s Riley Leonard out of the portal this spring after Sam Hartman transferred in from Wake Forest and started last season.
Will Angeli be content to spend another season as a backup? Does he want to stay at ND for a degree? Those are relevant questions to ask.
In two seasons in South Bend, Angeli has thrown for 504 yards, with seven touchdowns and one interception. Northwestern offered the then-four-star prospect out of New Jersey's Bergen Catholic High School in the Class of 2022 but again, that was under Bajakian, who was also a Bergen product himself.
The last one we’ll throw in is Cooper Legas of Utah State, who entered the portal on April 17. He appeared in 21 games over the last three seasons for USU, throwing for 3,485 yards, 32 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. The grad transfer is looking for a landing spot for his fifth and final year. He played behind the Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love and then record-setting passer Logan Bonner before splitting starting duties over the last two years.
Legas was a two-star coming out of Orem (Utah) in 2019. Academically, he'll be a graduate and looks to be a fit: he had offers from all three service academies out of high school and was named to the Mountain West all-academic team multiple times.
Northwestern will want to move quickly to secure a quarterback for next season, but they won't be in desperation mode quite yet. Last year, Bryant didn't commit to the Wildcats as a grad transfer from Cincinnati until May 3.
Then, on Tuesday morning, three days after their final open practice, senior quarterback Brendan Sullivan dropped a bombshell by entering the transfer portal. It was the equivalent of pulling the fire alarm at the University Library the night before final exams.
Sullivan was the presumed starter coming out of spring for the Wildcats. Ben Bryant, last year’s starter, is out of eligibility. So Sullivan, the perpetual No. 2 for the Wildcats, seemed to be next in line for the job.
He lost the battle for the starting job to a transfer in each of the last two fall camps, first to Ryan Hilinski in 2022, then to Bryant last season. Still, he started eight games in his career and threw for more than 1,000 yards. He had more experience than anyone on the roster.
New offensive coordinator Zach Lujan was widely expected to bring in a transfer quarterback at some point this spring, but now it’s an absolute necessity. The Wildcats can’t go into the season with a top three of Jack Lausch, Ryan Hilinski and Aidan Gray, who has yet to throw a pass at the college level.
The timing of Sullivan’s announcement tipped his hand at the real reason for his departure: he knew he wasn’t going to be the starter, no matter who the Wildcats brought in as a transfer. It also made clear that he wasn’t a fit for Lujan’s offense – and Lujan apparently was okay with letting him go. Lujan likes athletic QBs who can run, so Lausch is now the presumed No. 1 QB on the roster.
The Bible verse Sullivan quoted in his X post, Matthew 5:44, indicates he wasn’t happy with the outcome: It reads, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Regardless, it’s time to turn our attention to the future and who the Wildcats might bring in. Here are four potential candidates – though we know that, in all likelihood, NU’s next QB will likely be someone we haven’t even considered.
The No. 1 choice, of course, would be Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State. He ran Lujan’s offense and went 29-1 with two national championships over the last two seasons. For his career he has 7,590 yards passing, 1,387 yards rushing and a total of 97 touchdowns.
Gronowski would be better than a best-case scenario; more like perfect-case. He can throw, he can run, he knows Lujan’s offense inside and out, and he’s an outstanding student who will get his degree in mechanical engineering in May. He’s even from the Chicago area, prepping at Naperville (Ill.) Neuqua Valley.
The fly in the ointment: he has yet to even hint at transferring, and he just completed spring ball in Brookings. More ominously, multiple sources told WildcatReport that Gronowski isn’t coming to Evanston, so don't get your hopes up at this time. We'll consider him a longshot.
The other quarterback in the portal right now that has some history with NU is Mike Wright. Northwestern recruited the three-star QB for its Class of 2020, and he took an official visit to NU before committing to Vanderbilt. He spent three years at Vandy, then transferred to Mississippi State last year.
The rumor was that Wright was interested in Northwestern as a potential transfer destination but that NU’s staff didn’t reciprocate. In his career, the dual-threat Wright has played in 38 games, with 2,520 passing yards (24 TDs, 14 INTs) and 1,229 rushing yards.
However, it’s important to remember that all of that interest – and non-interest – came under previous offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian. Wright doesn't have any history with Lujan.
Steve Angeli from Notre Dame is another guy who’s not in the portal but potentially could be. The rising junior can’t be happy that the Irish went out and got Duke’s Riley Leonard out of the portal this spring after Sam Hartman transferred in from Wake Forest and started last season.
Will Angeli be content to spend another season as a backup? Does he want to stay at ND for a degree? Those are relevant questions to ask.
In two seasons in South Bend, Angeli has thrown for 504 yards, with seven touchdowns and one interception. Northwestern offered the then-four-star prospect out of New Jersey's Bergen Catholic High School in the Class of 2022 but again, that was under Bajakian, who was also a Bergen product himself.
The last one we’ll throw in is Cooper Legas of Utah State, who entered the portal on April 17. He appeared in 21 games over the last three seasons for USU, throwing for 3,485 yards, 32 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. The grad transfer is looking for a landing spot for his fifth and final year. He played behind the Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love and then record-setting passer Logan Bonner before splitting starting duties over the last two years.
Legas was a two-star coming out of Orem (Utah) in 2019. Academically, he'll be a graduate and looks to be a fit: he had offers from all three service academies out of high school and was named to the Mountain West all-academic team multiple times.
Northwestern will want to move quickly to secure a quarterback for next season, but they won't be in desperation mode quite yet. Last year, Bryant didn't commit to the Wildcats as a grad transfer from Cincinnati until May 3.
