Michigan State Football: Brian Lewerke likely out vs. Purdue

Michigan State football will be down a key figure on Saturday afternoon when the Spartans take the field against Purdue as Brian Lewerke will likely be out.

Get used to hearing the name Rocky Lombardi, Spartan fans.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: Complete 2018-19 season preview, prediction

As of Friday afternoon, Brian Lewerke will not be starting on Saturday against Purdue due to a shoulder ailment he suffered against Penn State and which did not heal by the time Michigan came to town the following week.

This is concerning news given the fact that Purdue is red-hot heading into Saturday’s contest, at least on the offensive side of the ball. Will Lombardi be able to provide the Spartans some relief in the passing game or will he be a deer in the headlights in his first career start?

One thing is for certain, he has the talent to be a solid contributor, but Mark Dantonio’s comments about him not sure if he was ready to start against Michigan have to make people wonder.

Lombardi, an Iowa-native, came to Michigan State as a three-star quarterback in the 2017 class, redshirted and played well enough to force a transfer of Messiah deWeaver — well that, and the fact that Lewerke wasn’t going anywhere soon. He has the frame of a dual-threat rusher and he can take a hit.

As long as he doesn’t take too many hits against the Boilermakers, he should be alright as Dantonio has stated he hopes that Lombardi can get the ball out quicker and avoid sacks.

Will we see some backup magic on Saturday like we did back in 2015 when Tyler O’Connor took over for Connor Cook and beat Ohio State on the road? We shall see, but Lewerke’s injury is clearly more serious than led on last week. This week off could do wonders for that shoulder.