GREEN & WHITE FOOTBALL

'Big risk, big reward' - Spartans confident in new QB Brian Lewerke

Chris Solari
Detroit Free Press
Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke, center, talks with receivers Hunter Rison, left, and Trishton Jackson on the sideline during the spring game at Spartan Stadium on April 1, 2017.

EAST LANSING – Michigan State struggled to find “the guy” at quarterback last season, making it difficult for the Spartans’ offense to ever develop cohesion.

Mark Dantonio made it clear earlier this month that Brian Lewerke will be his starter this fall. And the sophomore knows it’s his chance to show he deserves the job.

“It definitely put confidence in me,” Lewerke said Friday of Dantonio’s nod coming out of spring workouts. “He had told me in a meeting just with him that I was the guy. For him to come out publicly and say that was very big for my confidence going into this year.”

Dantonio said on April 12 that third-year quarterback from Phoenix, Arizona, was “clearly the starter heading into the offseason.” He said he was “very impressed” with Lewerke, whose two career starts are one more than any of the other returning quarterbacks this fall.

“He’s bigger, he’s faster, he throws the ball, he has great rhythm,” Dantonio said.

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Lewerke’s projected starting center, Brian Allen, has seen a metamorphosis with the 6-foot-3, 213-pound QB throughout the spring. He’s seen Lewerke get in teammates’ faces more or tell them where to go and what to do. He’s watched Lewerke command the huddle and communicate plays effectively.

And Allen said Lewerke “has that confidence” to excel as the starter.

“He knows the offense well enough,” Allen said. “He has trust in all the guys and faith in all of them, where he can approach them now when in the past, if you were to approach some kids, it wouldn’t be as easy. Some kids wouldn’t accept what the truth was. And I think people listen to him and know he’s right most of the time.

“I think that just makes them want to go to battle for him more.”

Tyler O’Connor started at quarterback nine of the Spartans’ 12 games during their fractured, frustrating season, but he proved ineffective and inconsistent in leading the offense. He graduated, leaving the job open for three remaining quarterbacks.

Lewerke, who started two games and played in four last season before suffering a broken left tibia, received the bulk of the snaps for the offense during MSU’s open scrimmage April 1. He threw for 305 yards while going 25-for-44 with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“I think Brian did a really great job for us this spring,” junior tight end Matt Sokol said. “He was just really consistent, really took control of our offense.”

Lewerke said he was “100% (healthy) going into spring ball” after taking precautions on his leg during winter lifting and conditioning. He still gets a little soreness if he lands on it hard, but he’s been working with coaches to slide more when he scrambles to ensure safety.

“Once we got into football, my leg felt fine,” he said, “I felt like I could cut on it pretty well.”

Before last season’s injury against Michigan on Oct. 29, Lewerke was 31 of 57 passing for 381 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for 149 yards on 21 carries last season as the Spartans limped to a 3-9 finish without a bowl game for the first time in Dantonio’s 10 seasons.

Lewerke’s mobility was at times infuriating because he abandoned downfield reads too early to tuck the ball and run. However, Grayson Miller said Lewerke was more apt to take risks at deep throws this spring while still flashing the running ability that caught the junior safety off guard a year ago.

“I didn’t think he would run for a first down in his life, but he surprised me,” Miller joked. “As a single-high safety, he looks off (receivers) – his eyes control a lot. Sometimes, you don’t notice that from the stands. But his eyes control a lot. He can make almost any throw with a lot of velocity or whatever it may be.

“But just kind of like Connor (Cook), he takes risks and is a gunslinger a little bit. That’s the kind of guy you want. Maybe it’s big risk, big reward, but you know you’d rather play with a guy like that than one who’s gonna be super-conservative all the time.”

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Linebacker Chris Frey said he saw Lewerke working “harder than anybody on this team” in the offseason. He watched his offensive teammate studying film and putting in the work on and off the field to be successful.

That, Lewerke said, will depend on how much he knows and how well he can pass it along.

“I just want to be the guy that everyone can look up to when they’re feeling down. When they don’t know what they’re doing, then can come to me and ask me questions so they can contribute more to our offense,” Lewerke said. “That’s just something I’m trying to do with myself, to know all the plays in and out – no matter if it’s a route, if it’s a protection or if it’s a read.”

The Spartans’ other quarterbacks were nicked up all spring. Redshirt freshman Messiah deWeaver had “back issues” that limited him during spring workouts, Dantonio said, while senior Damion Terry underwent a knee operation shortly after the season concluded in late November, dressed for the spring game but also did not play. Dantonio said it was for precautionary reasons.

That puts Lewerke in command going into the summer and before the team reconvenes in early August to prepare for the Labor Day weekend opener against Bowling Green a month later. He plans to spend the offseason working on building chemistry with his receivers and linemen, knowing a lot of pressure will on his shoulder to turn things around.

“The guys look up to you a lot more now that they know this is the guy the coaches want in there,” Lewerke said. “I think it helps them form a relationship around ‘the guy.’”

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.