Brian

Lewerke

Schefter’s report comes from Lewerke’s agent Mike McCartney, so it’s probably accurate. The 6-foot-3, 216-pound quarterback showed flashes of brilliance with the Spartans, but struggled to put it all together, and finished with a 17-13 TD/INT ratio in his final year with the Spartans. Lewerke isn’t likely a future starter, but because of the lack of depth in the Patriots’ QB room, he’s got a shot to make the roster if he plays well.

“The traits and talent are absolutely worth a look, but the spotty confidence and issues with ball placement could be hard to overcome,” Zierlein writes of Lewerke. He believes that there are some rougher edges that can be coached out to help with accuracy, here, notably in terms of footwork and follow-through, but on the whole, Lewerke has lost much of his shine since an intriguing 2017 campaign. He’s a fringe draft-able prospect at this juncture.

Lewerke (6'3/216) has occasionally flitted onto the draft radar due to his size and theoretical arm talent, but his work at MSU was peppered with inconsistent performances and underwhelming showings. And even on Saturday, Lewerke failed to excel in a setting where he should theoretically have been able to take over. It’s a tough look for a quarterback who needed to start out the evaluation process in clean fashion.

Lewerke (6'3/216), who also rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, passed Connor Cook to become Michigan State’s all-time leader in passing yards during Friday’s victory. In 2019, the senior quarterback completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 3,079 yards and 17 touchdowns with 13 interceptions, while also rushing for 363 yards and three more scores. Lewerke was given an undrafted free agent grade by Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline in August, and given his production during the season not much has changed on that front.

Lewerke (6'3/216) was shaky for most of the game. He strung together a few decent drives, but two critical interceptions kept Maryland in a game they probably didn’t deserve to be in otherwise. However, Lewerke put together a clutch final drive, completing seven passes en route to a go-ahead field goal. Michigan State barely crack bowl eligibility with a 6-6 regular season record.

Lewerke (6'3/216) completed 70% of his passes while leading the MSU offense to 395 total yards and controlling 37:51 of clock time. He was locked onto Cody White, who caught all three of Lewerke’s touchdown passes on the day. It’s been another middling season for the Spartans and rumors swirl that this could be HC Mark Dantonio’s last season before retiring. Michigan State closes out the regular season in need of a win to achieve bowl eligibility when they host Maryland next Saturday.

Lewerke (6'3/216) got Sparty off to a 7-0 lead with a one-yard touchdown pass to Max Rosenthal with time winding down in the first quarter. It would more/less be all UM the rest of the way, as MSU was outscored 44-3 over the final three quarters of the contest. The senior signal-caller needed a big campaign for draft stock purposes, but that just hasn’t come to fruition. He entered action on Saturday completing just 55.7% of his passes and now owns an unimpressive 13/8 TD/INT ratio in 10 games this season. Lewerke and company will close out the campaign against Rutgers and Maryland. They’ll need to win both of those soft matchups if they are to become bowl eligible.

Lewerke (6'3/216) sustained a head injury late in last Saturday’s 25-point collapse against Illinois. There has been some controversy this week as to whether the senior was tested for a concussion before being allowed to return to the game. It looks like Lewerke will play on Saturday barring setback, but it’s worth keeping an eye on how MSU handles him during the contest. Rocky Lombardi would start if Lewerke does end up a late scratch.

While MSU HC Mark Dantonio said on Tuesday that Lewerke was not checked out for a concussion late in Saturday’s defeat -- that he had simply told Dantonio he was fine after taking a hit to the head, subsequently returning to the game -- Michigan State is now singing a slightly different tune. Dr. Avellino said that Lewerke was tested for a concussion on the sideline and medically cleared to return. The statement also noted that the senior was tested once more on Monday, passing that test as well. It’s not immediately clear why Dantonio’s earlier response failed to jive with Michigan State’s released take.

Per Spartans HC Mark Dantonio, Lewerke was examined “very briefly” by trainers, said he was good to go, then allowed to return to the game. No concussion protocol. This in and of itself is sketchy. Just as concerning, Lewerke was not even checked out for a concussion after the conclusion of the game. It makes us feel somewhat uncomfortable to write it, but given that MSU is apparently not going to take further steps on this, Lewerke should be considered probable for Saturday’s game against Michigan. We’ll continue to monitor his status over the remainder of the practice week. Expect Dantonio and staff to draw a fair bit of heat for their nonchalance.