Michigan Football: Is Brandon Peters better than Brian Lewerke?
Michigan football quarterback Brandon Peters ranked higher than Brian Lewerke of Michigan State in a ranking of bowl quarterbacks, but is he really better?
It’s always fun to make lists, especially in sports. They spark fun debates and in the case of Michigan football quarterback Brandon Peters ranking ahead of Brian Lewerke of Michigan State in a recent ranking of bowl game starting quarterbacks, they can be quite interesting.
The ranking was put together by ESPN Insiders and Pro Football Focus. It ranked all 78 starting quarterbacks in the 39 bowl games according to ability and pro potential. For Michigan football fans, the most interesting thing about the list, is how high Peters ranks, No. 29. That’s well ahead of Michigan State sophomore Brian Lewerke, who was 46th after leading his team to a 9-3 season.
Obviously, Lewerke knows how to win. He helped Michigan State do plenty of that this season, but he did throw 17 touchdown passes compared to just six interceptions. He also completed just 58.8 percent of his passes, plus had five rushing touchdowns.
Peters had a much smaller sample size, but completed 57.6 percent of his passes to go along with four touchdowns and zero picks. He had just one turnover in three starts. He also had Michigan football in the game against Wisconsin, before he was knocked out with a concussion.
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That injury prevented him from playing against Ohio State too, which made it hard to judge how good he is and can be. Think if he had played the whole game against Wisconsin and won? Or if he beat the Buckeyes?
Bet Michigan fans wouldn’t care as much about Shea Patterson coming. Unfortunately, Peters didn’t get to play those games, so we will never know. Yet, it’s interesting, that he still ranks ahead of Lewerke.
It’s not surprising when you look back at his recruitment. He was a four-star and one that Jim Harbaugh compared to Andrew Luck. He has good size, is a decent athlete, has a live arm and is pretty darn accurate. Michigan’s points per drive basically doubled with him in the lineup.
But if you had your choice, would you take him or Lewerke?
It’s a tough call and an interesting discussion. Peters is more suited to being a pro quarterback down the road, yet Lewerke is the one who has proven he can win big games, beating Michigan on the road and Penn State at home in 2017.
The point the list should nail home though for Michigan fans, is that Peters is still well regarded. He’s not chop liver and if you think Patterson is going to come and take his job without a fight, you are mistaken.
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Back to the list though, hopefully Peters will play well and justify his ranking, otherwise, it’s just another reason for Michigan State fans to gripe about the Spartans being disrespected.