With Brendan Sullivan in the portal, what’s next for the ‘Cats?
Northwestern has a quarterback problem.
Brendan Sullivan, the presumptive starter for next season who performed admirably in four games of relief last season, entered the transfer portal last week, leaving the ‘Cats without a clear successor for Ben Bryant. Sullivan’s departure leaves Northwestern with just three signal callers left on the roster: Jack Lausch, Ryan Hilinski and Aidan Gray – none of whom exude all that much confidence at football’s most important position.
If the season started today, Lausch would most likely slot in as the starting quarterback given that he and Sullivan shared first team reps in spring practices. The sophomore has only thrown a total of 14 passes in his collegiate career, and while the talent is definitely there, he’s inexperienced. Hilinski, who led Northwestern to its only win in the brutal 2022 campaign, is the only guy left on the roster with legitimate starting experience. However, the sixth-year senior was the clear third-string option last season, appearing in just two games. Gray was a three-star prospect out of high school, but hasn’t touched the field yet for the ‘Cats.
As was the case last year, it’s very likely that Northwestern’s 2024 starter will be found through the transfer portal. Mark Gronowski, the South Dakota State quarterback who won back-to-back national championships with the Jackrabbits under new Northwestern offensive coordinator Zach Lujan, would have been the clear favorite for the job if he entered the portal. However, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner announced yesterday that he will return to SDSU for his senior season.
With Gronowski out of the picture, here are some of the potential ways Northwestern could go at the quarterback position in 2024.
Mike Wright
Wright now is the clear cut favorite for the job. The senior enters the portal after spending four years at Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. The dual-threat quarterback started 14 games in his time in the SEC — mostly for Vanderbilt — and boasts 3,749 totals yards and 34 TDs in his career. Wright’s best moment came in 2022 for Vanderbilt when he threw for 184 yards and ran for 126 yards on the way to a 24-21 win against No. 24 Kentucky on the road.
The kicker here is that in 2019, Wright’s commitment came down to Northwestern and Vanderbilt. Wright would come to Evanston having both familiarity with the Northwestern program and legitimate starting experience in the SEC. He’s the best guy available with a Northwestern connection, and he’d maybe be the most exciting runner that the ‘Cats have ever had at the quarterback position.
Timmy McClain
It’s all guess work after Wright. There haven’t been any reports as to who Braun and his staff have been targeting in the portal and the only other guy left with a Northwestern connection is Jacob Conover, who doesn’t profile as a starter after struggling mightily at Arizona State.
That being said, McClain would be a huge get for Northwestern. The sophomore from Florida played his first two years of college football at USF and UCF respectively, and he fits the Ben Bryant model as a proven starter from a former American Athletic Conference program.
McClain is ranked by 247Sports as the second best quarterback left in the portal and for good reason. He threw for 955 yards in his four starts at UCF, three of which came against Big 12 opposition. McClain put up 264 yards and three touchdowns against a Kansas State team that finished 9-4 and won a bowl game.
Cooper Legas
Cooper Legas is a really interesting name to monitor. The graduate transfer from Utah State is a proven starter who boasts the third highest completion percentage in Aggies history. He was 5-4 as a starter last season, throwing for 1,815 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Legas isn’t going to beat you with his legs, but he is an efficient pocket passer who would raise Northwestern’s offensive ceiling immensely.
Matthew Rueve
A redshirt junior who didn’t see the field during his time at Boston College, Matthew Rueve is nowhere near a proven commodity. Nonetheless he turned heads at camp this spring, and would come to Evanston as an exciting, no-risk prospect.
Rueve is a prototypical pocket passer who fills the Ben Bryant role to a tee. He’s a true dark horse to be the guy at Northwestern, and I’m sure David Braun would rather land a prospect with starting experience. However, I could still see a world where the ‘Cats bring him in to compete with Lausch and Rueve ends up winning the job.
Jacob Conover
Conover is the only other quarterback left in the portal who Northwestern offered, so he makes this list almost by default. The graduate transfer began his collegiate career at BYU before transferring to Arizona State last spring. He was, to put it bluntly, brutal at times for Arizona State last season, capped by a 55-3 loss to Utah where Conover was 5-of-22 passing with 41 yards and an interception.
However, Conover is definitely an intriguing prospect. Unlike Wright, he wouldn’t immediately slot in as the starter over Lausch, but the tools are there for Conover to be successful in the Big Ten. The pro-style quarterback was a three-star prospect out of high school who chose BYU over an offer from Alabama. He is also fast — yesterday he posted that he just hit a top speed of 22.4 miles per hour, which would have been the fastest recorded speed for a ball-carrier in 2023.
Conover visited Utah State on Monday, and the Aggies are the favorite the land the journeyman quarterback, but he’s absolutely a guy worth monitoring for Northwestern.