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Michigan State Football: Top 10 All-Big Ten candidates for 2018

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 04: Juwan Johnson #84 of the Penn State Nittany Lions can't make a second half catch next to Justin Layne #2 of the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium on November 4, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 27-24.(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 04: Juwan Johnson #84 of the Penn State Nittany Lions can't make a second half catch next to Justin Layne #2 of the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium on November 4, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 27-24.(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 28: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans rolls out to look for a receiver against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 28, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern defeated Michigan State 39-31 in triple overtime. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 28: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans rolls out to look for a receiver against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 28, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern defeated Michigan State 39-31 in triple overtime. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Remember when Michigan State had a quarterback problem in 2016 and Tyler O’Connor struggled to gain any momentum under center with Damion Terry earning some snaps here and there? That seems like a distant memory at this point.

Brian Lewerke has eased everyone’s minds over the past year with his rise to stardom, passing for 2,793 yards and 20 touchdowns with only seven interceptions and he rushed for another 559 yards and five scores. He has become the calm, cool and collected quarterback who the Spartans needed a couple of years ago.

Despite having a breakout season as a sophomore and full-time starter, it wasn’t good enough to earn him a spot on one of the three All-Big Ten teams and he was instead named an honorable mention selection. This season will be different as he’s considered one of the two best quarterbacks in the Big Ten heading into the year.

Some of his numbers early in the year were pedestrian, but he truly broke out with back-to-back 400-yard games against Northwestern and Penn State. A 10-3 record in his first year as a starter puts him on pace with Kirk Cousins and Connor Cook as the most successful quarterbacks in school history.

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