Michigan State Football: Brian Lewerke unfairly judged for not being Connor Cook

Brian Lewerke is arguably one of the best quarterbacks Michigan State football has had but fans were unable to see past some inconsistent play to notice.

Fans remember the interceptions as we collectively yell at the TV and say, ‘How did not you see that?’ I’ve been there and, yes, I get it. However, Brian Lewerke is a good quarterback with an NFL future. Don’t believe me? Consider what he has been through.

Doubt. The quarterback position is the toughest to play. It’s almost a mental game more than the physical. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields torched Michigan, however, he underthrew many players in the game — talent trumped the activity. Doubt is the biggest killer to confidence and it may be the reason players looked defeated in some games.

Let’s be honest, Maryland tried its best to give the game on Saturday away and Michigan State did its best to give it right back — it was a game of hot potato. In the end, you could argue that it was Lewerke who led the team to the win. He should not be remembered as the quarterback who could not do it at MSU but rather as the one who gave the Spartans everything he had.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr credits the book The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey as being the book that transformed him and his coaching method. The quarterback position is not so much about arm strength as it is an inner game. A game that Lewerke was unfairly prosecuted for not being Connor Cook.

Lewerke and the entire team had everything riding on this season and that is where the problem arises and why Mark Dantonio made hats for everyone. Expectation, fair or unfair, is a killer.

The feeling is what the game of tennis is about and it is also why the Spartans failed this season. Gallwey says, “Ending judgment means you neither add nor subtract from the facts before your eyes. Things appear as they are -undistorted. In this way, the mind becomes more calm.”

As New York Giant legend quarterback Phil Simms says, “You play better when you are calm.”

Lewerke was a quarterback pressing in 2018 and it became more obvious in 2019. He has attempted to personally lift this program. Fans see an interception or a missed read however do not mistake that he has given everything he has to the Spartans. It’s not a matter of play-calling, but rather of the head game. Michigan fans have seen it with Shea Patterson.

The reason Lewerke has not looked great is that he has needed a two-minute offense the entire time. The two-minute offense gives you no time to think and that has been the missing link for the Spartans. Drew Brees has had success because he can forget the interception. But a QB pressing like Lewerke means the offense is going to stutter.

“The surfer waits for the big wave because he values the challenge it presents,” said Gallwey.

MSU will be back, however, be patient.