Iowa has a place in Max Brosmer’s origin story.

The transfer quarterback has firmly staked himself onto the Gophers’ side of the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry, but he was born in Davenport, Iowa — only 55 miles east to the Hawkeyes’ campus in Iowa City.

“I don’t remember actually living there,” the sixth-year senior said this week. “… We moved to Ohio after that.”

Brosmer’s family has Ohio State Buckeyes fans in it, but his parents Colin and Jayna, who settled their family of four in Georgia, are now in maroon and gold after supporting their eldest son across five years at the University of New Hampshire.

Max made the jump to the Big Ten Conference from an FCS-level school this year in order to play in big games like Saturday night’s matchup against Iowa at Huntington Bank Stadium.

“A lot of guys dream to be in this spot,” Brosmer said. “Under the lights in a huge big-time, Big Ten game like this. One of the top rivalries in college football. You grow up and you want to be on these stages.”

Brosmer’s first major college football game against North Carolina on Aug. 29 was “a little bit surreal because it was the first one,” offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh said Wednesday. Brosmer had some inaccurate passes early in the game and a key fumble lost in the second half, but he got in a groove and led the U offense into a position to win late in the game.

“This one now he understands what the environment is going to be like,” Harbaugh said about the Hawkeyes game. “He understands what the scene is going to be like. Now taking it in every single day.”

Harbaugh has been in Brosmer’s ear this week, starting with Tuesday’s practice and reminding him to enjoy the process of preparing to play in this rivalry game. The Hawkeyes appear to have another stout defense this season, but their sound philosophy should come with an understanding of where defenders will be on the field once Brosmer diagnosis the scheme.

“Trust what you see,” Harbaugh said of his message to Brosmer. “Go through your progressions. It’s fun with him because you can tweak different things each week. We’ve talked before about how intelligent he is and how well he can transition from one opponent to the next.”

Across three games, Brosmer has completed 69 percent of his passes (53 for 77) for 627 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He has had most of his success in short and intermediate throws.

One coincidence is Brosmer and Gophers tight end Frank Bierman were both born at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, Iowa.

Bierman hails from Tipton, Iowa, which is 30 miles northeast of Iowa City. After starting his career at Iowa Western Community College, Bierman has been a surprise addition to the Gophers’ offense this season, playing 44 offensive plays through three games. The fifth-year player has stepped into a bigger role after an injury to third-stringer Pierce Walsh.

“He’s a tough, hard-nosed football player, great kid, really smart,” head coach P.J. Fleck said. “And Frank gives us that added dimension of toughness and physicality. He’s a glorified full back/tight end.”

Once Brosmer came to Minnesota in January, he and Bierman discovered their link to the same hospital. “Completely different walks in life and we found out were were born in Genesis,” Brosmer said. “That was pretty cool.”

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