Former Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant is transferring to Northwestern after spending four seasons with the Bearcats over two stints with a gap year at Eastern Michigan, he announced Wednesday. A two-year career starter, Bryant now sets his sights on pushing for a starting gig in the Big Ten.
Bryant redshirted his first season in 2018 and served as the backup to Desmond Ridder for the next two years before transferring to Eastern Michigan for the 2021 season. In his lone year with the Eagles, he threw for 3,121 yards and 14 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
In a rare move, Bryant then transferred back to Cincinnati following Ridder's departure for the NFL Draft, beating out Evan Prater for the starting job and throwing for 2,732 yards and 21 touchdowns in 11 games of a season cut short by a foot injury. Going into 2023, Bryant was expected to compete with former Florida and Arizona State quarterback Emory Jones for the starting position.
With the Wildcats coming off a disappointing 1-11 season, Bryant joins a quarterback battle that already includes Ryan Hilinski, Brendan Sullivan and Jack Lausch. Hilinski began his career at South Carolina, where he started 11 games as a true freshman; Sullivan started five games for the Wildcats a year ago. HIlinski has appeared in 17 games over the last two seasons for Northwestern, throwing for 2,622 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
