Kirk Ferentz gives positive health updates on Brendan Sullivan, Reece Vander Zee ahead of bowl game

IOWA CITY — Brendan Sullivan is Iowa football’s expected starter at quarterback against Missouri in this month’s Music City Bowl, head coach Kirk Ferentz said Friday during a news conference.

Sullivan is “healthy” and looks “really good,” Ferentz said, after suffering an ankle injury in Iowa’s Nov. 8 loss to UCLA and not playing in Iowa’s last two regular-season games.

“The injury is in the history now,” Ferentz said. “It’s passed. Just getting caught up because he missed a couple weeks there. This has been a good period where he’s getting some work.”

Jackson Stratton, who started Iowa’s last two games of the regular season while Sullivan was out, will be Iowa’s No. 2 quarterback in Nashville. Incoming quarterbacks Hank Brown and Jimmy Sullivan can practice with the team, but will not be able to participate in the bowl game.

Wide receiver Reece Vander Zee also has returned to practice and will be available despite not being listed on the pre-bowl depth chart. Vander Zee, a true freshman from Rock Rapids, started Iowa’s first eight games before suffering an injury in Iowa’s Oct. 26 win over Northwestern and has not played since.

“He’s fine,” Ferentz said. “Practicing well. In fact, coming off the field last night, asked him how he felt. He feels great. He’ll be in the rotation.”

Elsewhere on offense, Kamari Moulton is the first-team running back on the pre-bowl depth chart after star running back Kaleb Johnson decided to declare for the 2025 NFL draft (and opt out of the bowl game). Jaziun Patterson is the second-team running back.

The pre-bowl depth chart did not have any other first-team changes. Eli Miller now is the second-team fullback after Rusty VanWetzinga’s departure via the transfer portal. Iowa’s depth charts come with the caveat, however, that what appears on paper often differs from what the Hawkeyes show on the field.

“I don’t know when we wrote that depth chart,” Ferentz said on Friday. “It was probably last month.”

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