Michigan State Football: The case for Brian Lewerke to start

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Those that understand Brian Lewerke’s potential realize that the redshirt freshman QB can be really good for Michigan State football.

Is there a quarterback controversy in East Lansing? No. However, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio has compared redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke to former Spartan Kirk Cousins. There is high hope and praise for Brian from both coaches and teammates.

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While Spartan fans lament the Saturday debacle against Wisconsin, they look to the future and like any fan base that experiences horrendous quarterback play, they want the backup to start next week.

It might not be out of the question if Michigan State continues to get Lewerke work in games. Tyler O’Connor was a trainwreck and needs much work. Fans had flashbacks of Andrew Maxwell as they watched O’Connor languish in the game.

Commentator Matt Millen even mentioned that O’Connor rushed throws and felt the rush even when it was not there. The Badgers accomplished the goal, make MSU one-dimensional and then disrupt that with hits on the quarterback.

The backup is always the most popular player when things are not going well for a team. Lewerke is a talent who the coaches sense and they already know what they have in O’Connor.

Personally, I’m disappointed in O’Connor’s performance because it was his opportunity to step up and he folded quickly under the pressure. MSU will not make the same mistake as it did with Maxwell, Dantonio wants to win and will do whatever is necessary.

That being stated, it is important to know that the coaching staff will wait and see what O’Connor does against Indiana. O’Connor is on a short lease and the first half of the Indiana game is the most important of O’Connor’s MSU career.

However, the coaching staff knows what it has in O’Connor and this season is fast becoming about next season. Is that an overreaction? No, because there are too many problems on defense and offense at this stage of the season for the coaching staff to fix. Therefore, look for Lewerke to see little more time under center.

The Tyler O’Connor era is already on a countdown clock.