Brian Lewerke (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans.
_(cropped).jpg) Lewerke with the New York Giants in 2021 | |
| No. 19 – Michigan Panthers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 24, 1996 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 216 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Pinnacle (AZ) |
| College: | Michigan State (2015–2019) |
| Undrafted: | 2020 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editLewerke attended Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona. During his career he had 7,090 yards and 87 touchdowns total. He committed to Michigan State University to play college football.[1]
College career
editAfter redshirting his first year at Michigan State in 2015, Lewerke appeared in four games and made two starts as a redshirt freshman in 2016. His season ended in October after suffering a broken tibia after being tackled by Jabrill Peppers in a game against Michigan.[2] He finished the season completing 31 of his 57 passing attempts for 381 yards, including two touchdowns and an interception.[3][4][5]
Lewerke entered the 2017 season as the starting quarterback for the team. He finished his 2017 redshirt sophomore season with 246 completions out of 417 passing attempts, 2793 total yards, 20 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions . Lewerke and the Spartans, who were ranked #19 at the time, also went on to beat Washington State, the #21 ranked team at the time, 42–17 in the 2017 Holiday Bowl, in which Lewerke earned the Offensive MVP award.[6] The Spartans finished the season 10–3, with a final ranking of #15 in the AP poll.
In his junior season in 2018, Lewerke completed 189 out of his 339 passing attempts, threw for 2,040 yards and 8 touchdowns, and threw 11 interceptions. He also ran 90 times for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns, and was sacked 19 times. This gave him a 54.3 completion percentage and a passer rating of 106.1. That season, the Spartans went 7–6 overall, and 5–4 in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans also made an appearance in the 2018 Redbox Bowl, losing 7–6 to the Oregon Ducks.
In his senior season in 2019, Lewerke completed 234 out of his 399 passing attempts, threw for 2,759 yards and 16 touchdowns, and threw 12 interceptions. He also ran 100 times for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns, and was sacked 17 times. He had a 58.6 completion percentage for the season and a passer rating of 124.0. That season, the Spartans went 7–6 overall, and 4–5 in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans also made an appearance in the 2019 Pinstripe Bowl, winning 27–21 over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, in which Lewerke won the MVP award. During this game, Lewerke surpassed former quarterback Connor Cook to become the school's all-time leader in total yards from scrimmage.
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m) |
213 lb (97 kg) |
32+1⁄8 in (0.82 m) |
10+5⁄8 in (0.27 m) |
4.95 s | 1.65 s | 2.80 s | 4.40 s | 7.14 s | 31.0 in (0.79 m) |
9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
30[7] | |
| All values from NFL Combine[8][9] | ||||||||||||
New England Patriots
editLewerke went undrafted in the 2020 NFL draft. On May 5, 2020, Lewerke was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent.[10] On July 26, 2020, he was waived before training camp opened,[11] but re-signed with the team four days later.[12] He was waived on September 5, 2020.[13]
Lewerke signed with the Alphas of The Spring League in May 2021.[14]
New York Giants
editOn August 16, 2021, Lewerke signed with the New York Giants.[15] He was waived on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad.[16][17] On January 8, 2022, Lewerke was promoted for the team's season finale against the Washington Football Team after injuries to Daniel Jones and Mike Glennon.[18] He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Giants on January 10, 2022.[19]
On May 18, 2022, Lewerke was waived.[20]
Seattle Sea Dragons
editOn November 15, 2022, Lewerke was assigned to the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL.[21] He was released on January 21, 2023.
Michigan Panthers
editLewerke signed with the Michigan Panthers of the USFL on May 17, 2023.[22] He was released on March 10, 2024.[23] He was re-signed on March 20, 2024.[24]
References
edit- ^ Obert, Richard (April 19, 2014). "Pinnacle QB Brian Lewerke commits to Michigan State". The Arizona Republic. Gannett. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Murphy, Dan (October 31, 2016). "Michigan State QB Brian Lewerke out for rest of season with broken leg". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Wenzel, Matt (July 28, 2017). "Mark Dantonio believes Brian Lewerke is next great Michigan State QB". MLive.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Wenzel, Matt (August 2, 2017). "Michigan State all in on Brian Lewerke as starting QB, leader". MLive.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Niyo, John (September 3, 2017). "Niyo: A healthy Lewerke should put MSU on solid footing". The Detroit News. Digital First Media. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Warnemuende, Jeremy (December 29, 2017). "Lewerke, Frey take home Holiday Bowl MVP awards". 247Sports.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ "Brian Lewerke scored a 30 on Wonderlic test at NFL Draft Combine". spartanswire.usatoday.com. April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "Brian Lewerke Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Draft Scout Brian Lewerke, Michigan State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "Patriots Sign 15 Rookie Free Agents". Patriots.com. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Alper, Josh (July 26, 2020). "Patriots drop to 80 players ahead of training camp". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- ^ "Patriots Re-Sign QB Brian Lewerke". Patriots.com. July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ "Patriots Release 24 Players". Patriots.com. September 5, 2020. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ @TheSpringLeague (May 2, 2021). "First look at the #TSLAlphas roster at #TSL2021!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 22, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Giants sign Brian Lewerke after quarterback injury". New York Post. August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (September 1, 2021). "New York Giants announce 53-man roster". Giants.com.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (September 2, 2021). "Giants reach NFL-max 16-man practice squad". Giants.com.
- ^ Vinny Somma (January 8, 2022). "Giants Sign Ex-Eagles Quarterback & Former High School Phenom". Heavy.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (January 10, 2022). "QB Daniel Jones 'progressing' in rehab process". Giants.com.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (May 18, 2022). "Giants add 4 to defense in series of roster moves". Giants.com.
- ^ "Rosters for all eight XFL teams: Full draft results and where Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant landed". ESPN.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ @USFLPanthers (May 17, 2023). "Free Agent Signing" (Tweet). Retrieved May 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "UFL Teams Set their Training Camp Rosters to 58". UFLBoard.com. March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ Larsen, James (March 19, 2024). "Michigan Panthers Re-Sign QB Brian Lewerke, Davis Cheek Out". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved March 21, 2024.