Michigan State Football: 5 reasons Brian Lewerke could be Dantonio’s best QB ever

2. Best athlete Dantonio has had under center

There was always talk that Connor Cook could run with the ball and the coaching staff wanted to design more plays with him carrying the pigskin, but he never had the type of athleticism that made him a true dual-threat. He finished his career with 209 rushing yards, three touchdowns and one devastating truck of Michigan’s Delano Hill and subsequent stare down.

Kirk Cousins, well, he didn’t exactly have the athleticism to tuck and run with the ball so defenses knew they didn’t have to account for a potential threat on the group. He finished his Michigan State career with negative rushing yards and one touchdown.

Lewerke, however, is a heck of a dual-threat, arguably the best Michigan State has seen to date, rivaling Drew Stanton. He had 559 rushing yards and five touchdowns — that’s more than twice as much production on the ground in one year than Cook had in four.

No, being an elite dual-threat doesn’t exactly make a quarterback better than a pure pocket passer, but it does keep defenses guessing and, in turn, will force more mistakes by opponents. Lewerke will be the most productive quarterback Mark Dantonio has ever had, and it may not be all that close.