Lewerke showed promise, Terry was good in flashes and looked poised against Penn State and O’Connor was solid at times, but never consistent enough to win games.

After months of football, the quarterback position still hangs in the balance for 2017.

“We wanted to start Damion Terry for a number of reasons; he is a younger player and we wanted to give him the chance to be the starter in the game,” head coach Mark Dantonio said following the game. “It was a tough decision but I think that it was warranted based on our season and based on his progress.”

O’Connor struggled with timing and interceptions throughout the year, being replaced in games by Terry and Lewerke. Terry was hampered by a hand injury in the early stages of the season, giving way to start Lewerke against Wisconsin and two starts against Northwestern and Maryland.

Lewerke was hailed for his short performances in the season before breaking his leg late against the University of Michigan. In the minds of many frustrated fans, Lewerke was the answer for Spartans ails and was the quarterback of the future, something they once thought about Terry as MSU struggled in 2012 and early 2013.

But Terry became the backup to O’Connor as time progressed and the successes of the team from 2013 through 2015 masked a plethora of questions about the future.

Terry relieved O’Connor in a stirring loss to Illinois leading a fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short.

Terry’s latest performance against Penn State showed poise and quick decisions as MSU marched down the field on three consecutive drives. He found fifth-year senior receiver R.J. Shelton for 39 yards, Monty Madaris in traffic a few times and was able duck out of rushes to create time.

“I think we know what we’re getting with Damion,” fifth-year senior Josiah Price said. “I think he’s a great quarterback for us. I think today he was able to showcase that a little bit. He put together a lot of great drives, runs, throws, taking hits and making great throws.”

Though his decisions were faster and cleaner, he wasn’t able to pick up points as MSU stalled on all three drives he lead, tacking only nine points to the board.

“I thought that he played very well until he got hurt on the fourth drive I believe,” Dantonio said. “He drove us down the field four times but we just have to work on getting into the end zone.”

Terry’s progression, however, will create an interesting dialogue in the offseason. Terry represents experience, which many fans decried as detrimental to MSU’s long-term goals. Many would rather see Lewerke take over as the starter who can follow the path of former quarterback Connor Cook.

“He’s a good quarterback, and I think he hasn’t really been given his fair chance to really be the guy on game days,” Price said of Terry going forward. “He’s kind of a gamer type of guy.”

Terry and Lewerke battled for the number two spot during the summer which many prophesied as Terry lagging behind an upstart freshman. But the competition will help MSU as it will raise the level of play from both Terry and Lewerke.

Spring games show only so much but will be a good sign of how far along Lewerke and Terry have come along. Lewerke will come off an injury and Terry off a strong performance that showed his ability in flashes.

“Damion’s a great quarterback, and it just goes along with every quarterback that we’ve had whether it’s Tyler (O’Connor), whether it’s Lewerke, whether it’s Damion,” Shelton said. “I’ve been saying this the whole season. It doesn’t matter who’s in there. We’re going to ride with whoever is in.”