EXCLUSIVE: Michigan State Football 2015 QB Brian Lewerke Talks About Last Week’s Elite 11 Camp & Spending Time with Current MSU QB Connor Cook

EXCLUSIVE: Michigan State Football 2015 QB Brian Lewerke Talks About Last Week’s Elite 11 Camp & Spending Time with Current MSU QB Connor Cook

Finding the right quarterback in a recruiting class is critical for a college coaching staff. Michigan State head football coach Mark Dantonio and his staff have excelled at this difficult task in the past, finding gems such as Kirk Cousins, Connor Cook, Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry.

In April, the Spartan coaching staff found its standout quarterback for the class of 2015 in Brian Lewerke. The gifted quarterback from Arizona received offers from schools such as Florida, Louisville and UCLA after an outstanding junior campaign.

Since committing to MSU three months ago, Lewerke has been working hard to prepare for his senior season of high school and the beginning of his career in East Lansing. Lewerke recently attended the annual Elite 11 quarterback camp, impressing all who watched him play and cementing the MSU staff’s confidence in the youngster.

Lewerke recently spoke with Spartan Nation to talk about the camp and his focus moving forward.

Elite 11 camps are nationally recognized as prestigious programs open to only the best high school players in the country. Just 18 signal callers were invited to the recent Elite 11 quarterback camp in Beaverton, Oregon. Lewerke was one of them.

“I realize how exclusive that camp is and how hard it is to get into that,” he said. “I was definitely honored to have been invited to that camp. I had a ton of fun up there, too.”

While the camp features stellar competition and excellent coaching, the event also tests campers’ comfort zones. Placed in an extremely challenging environment, players are positioned to learn from their mistakes in a positive way.

The five-day camp is physically and mentally grueling, but the signalcallers learned a great deal at the camp. Lewerke found the experience to be very beneficial.

“I learned that I can push past my limits, because that was one thing we were taught,” Lewerke said. “At the beginning, we had an endurance [exercise] with Team Red, White and Blue, which is like a veteran committee. They put us through a bunch of tests that were probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

“I learned that I could push past what I thought tired was, and I could push past my boundaries to achieve more than I thought I could.”

The 6’3, 180 pound MSU commit has many of the needed tools to succeed at the next level: size, accuracy, and consistency. Many have heralded him as a major prize for Dantonio.

That doesn’t mean Lewerke is a completed product yet. Lewerke is working on his weaknesses, as he picked up valuable skills from the camp.

“I learned to control my mind a little more,” he said. “We had a sports psychologist come in and talk to us about trying to stay positive even when something bad happens, like you throw an interception or you make a bad read…You’re not going to be perfect every time, so you have to push past when you do bad and focus on the good in it.”

One quality that Lewerke doesn’t have to work on is his coachability.

“That’s one thing that my coaches have always told me: if I make a mistake, they’ll tell me to fix it, and within the next couple of reps, the next couple of plays, I’m already learning to do it better and trying to figure out how to make it better,” he said.

At the Elite 11 camp, Lewerke enjoyed the added benefit of having current MSU starter Connor Cook as a mentor and coach.

Lewerke knew Cook prior to the camp, but became closer with him during the event.

“We were split up into groups of four quarterbacks and he was one of the mentors, one of about six college quarterbacks who came out and helped,” Lewerke explained. “He was in our group. It was a great feeling to talk with him, having visited with him when I was up at Michigan State. It was great to be able to talk with him more.

“He would tell me what stuff I needed to work on, what I was doing well. He was always there encouraging me. It was nice to have him there with me.”

The Spartan Nation knows Cook as a player from his stellar sophomore season. Cook was a key cog of the Spartan machine that captured the program’s first Rose Bowl win since 1988.

But few know Cook as a person or as a coach the way Lewerke saw him during the Elite 11 camp.

“He was pretty good. He would notice the small things that I was doing right and the small things I was doing wrong, and helped me improve,” Lewerke said of Cook. “He wasn’t yelling in my face, he was really helpful and encouraging, and I really like that about him.”

Soon Lewerke will be joining Cook at quarterback in East Lansing. But first, Lewerke needs to complete his senior year at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona.

Some might look past high school and yearn for college, but Lewerke doesn’t share that state of mind.

“I’m pretty patient. I’m looking forward to my senior year, this being my last year in high school, the last year of being a kid,” he said. “I’m definitely going to enjoy that. And obviously, I’m not going to be graduating early, so I’ll have a little time to enjoy high school a little more and spend some time with my friends before I leave. I’m definitely looking forward to being able to go to Michigan State.”

Seven other 2015 recruits have already joined Lewerke in committing to Michigan State, heightening excitement around the program.

“It’s definitely been picking up as of late. L.J. Scott is a great recruit,” Lewerke said. “I’ve seen his film, he looks like a great player, so I’m definitely excited to have a great cast. The more support and the more good players are around yourself and the team, the more it helps build the team and it helps you to be more successful.”

According to Dantonio, six spots remain for the class of 2015. Lewerke is eager to find his new teammates and to help the Spartan coaching staff reel in top talent from across the country.

“There’s a receiver who just contacted me this morning, and we’re going to start up a relationship and hopefully we’ll be able to get him to Michigan State also.”

Spartan fans still have a little while to wait before they see Brian Lewerke suit up in a Green and White uniform. In the meantime, they don’t have to worry about his preparation for his freshman season. A humble leader and solid quarterback, Lewerke will keep working hard and will be ready to go when August 2015 rolls around.