When Tony Banks retired in 2005 there were no Spartans in the NFL for two seasons. That was until Drew Stanton was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft in 2007 by the Detroit Lions. Since Stanton’s draft, there has always been an MSU quarterback in the NFL, and they have developed a bit of a learning tree as a unit.
After Stanton left for the NFL, his Spartan replacement, Brian Hoyer, soon followed as he signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent. Then Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles, and Connor Cook. They all keep in touch to this day and help each other grow in the NFL, and are also all available to any Spartan still in Mark Dantonio’s program who needs advice.
Stanton, now entering his 13th season as a backup with the Cleveland Browns, had this to say about the mentality of the Spartan quarterbacks:
“I’m not doing it to gain any credit, but I’m doing it because I know I would want somebody like that helping me out, someone that’s been there. Kirk has been an unbelievable resource. Brian Hoyer is. Connor Cook. You look at that lineage of guys and being able to have those type of resources for Brian Lewerke, for Rocky — all those guys — it’s invaluable because you see it through a certain lens. And that lens is very unique to the position we play at the university you play it at.”
This offseason, Lewerke was able to meet with Kirk Cousins, a meeting he said was important to him:
“He actually had a one-on-one with all three of us, me Theo (Day) and Rock (Rocky Lombardi), about 10 minutes apiece. I just asked him questions about how much film he watched and just basic questions. I don’t want to talk about it exactly. He did give me some advice on just football and life.”
