The 2017-18 Football season was not necessarily a disaster for Michigan State, but for a team that is looking to head back to the College Football Playoff, it was a disappointment. Much of that was due to the, admittedly, less than stellar play of team leader Brian Lewerke.
Dealing with a nagging shoulder injury, Lewerke never quite seemed himself, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Coach Dantonio, his teammates, or Lewerke himself.
This year, Dantonio is challenging his quarterback to exude confidence:
“Quarterback is such an inspiring position. You need to inspire people. It’s not that you just gotta have confidence in yourself — I don’t care if you’re the 1, 2, 3 or 4 — you’ve gotta inspire other people and your body language has to say so. I think he’ll be ready to go.”
To his credit, Lewerke acknowledged his shortcomings last year:
“Obviously, last year was kind of a tough year for me. I think maybe it kind of affected the whole team, my attitude. It could’ve been better. So he just wants me to be more positive and lively for the offense and for the whole team. Obviously, it comes with me playing well, I think. That obviously comes hand-in-hand with that. Just being upbeat, uptempo all the time and trying to encourage people.”
For what it’s worth, Lewerke looked great Saturday, and his teammates took notice:
“I really felt like Brian, he has great confidence,” said wide-receiver Darrell Stewart, who ended the day with five catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns, both from Lewerke.
