“I don't really think it's in this team's best interest to air those decisions prior to football games,” Dantonio said. “I think that's something that needs to be kept in house for everybody's best benefit. So that's how I handle those things.”

However, Dantonio went through the steps of the decision-making process for deciding if a quarterback starts when dealing with an injury. It starts with talking with doctors, trainers, the players and their families, outside consultants, specialists and “anybody that is involved in the decision-making process.”

Then, after consulting all those people, he and his staff make a decision based on the player’s safety, which Dantonio said “should be well documented with the number of players that we've had out this year,” and based on his ability to play at a high level and the team’s chances of winning with the player on the field.

"As we go forward those decisions become complicated at times, but we do the very best we can and everybody is involved,” Dantonio said.

The player involved is Lewerke, who’s been suffering an unknown right-shoulder injury since MSU’s 21-17 win over now-No. 14 Penn State on Oct. 13.

Lewerke went 5-of-25 for 66 yards in a 21-7 loss to now-No. 4 Michigan a week later, and sat out in a 23-13 win against Purdue led by Lombardi, who went 26-of-46 for 318 yards and two touchdowns. 

Lewerke then returned in a 24-3 win over Maryland, and went 11-of-20 for 87 yards and an interception, while running a season-high 45 yards before being replaced by Lombardi with 11:00 left in the game, who went 0-for-2 and threw an interception.

And after the Spartans' 26-6 loss to No. 10 Ohio State, the junior captain said he knew he wasn’t throwing the ball well after watching Lombardi play, who replaced him with 1:29 left in the second quarter. 

Lewerke, who went 11-of-28 for 128 yards and an interception against the Buckeyes, came back out with 12:22 left in the game after Lombardi went 7-of-20 for 92 yards, losing a fumble with 13:56 left in the fourth quarter.

“I put Rocky in the game, when it became apparent, wanted to give him one more series and went in that direction,” Dantonio said. “When we had a couple of turnovers, went back the other direction."

Wide receiver Cody White said it doesn’t matter if it’s Lewerke or Lombardi in — the receivers will still make plays.

“Whoever is in for us, we know we’re going to make plays for them,” White said after practice Tuesday. “Whichever guy is going in is the one we’re going to rock with.”

But, Dantonio said until he sees anything different in practice, he’s sticking with the quarterback that’s brought a “certain amount of level of success” — Lewerke.

“I thought he could fit it in tight windows, I thought he had velocity,” Dantonio said. “He's probably hurt more than injured, you know? So who’s not hurt at this point in the season a little bit? Some guys play through a little bit of that pain, and that's what he's tried to do, and he should be applauded for that.”

However, Dantonio admitted he might change his decision during a game depending on how Lewerke plays and how the game is unfolding — which he made clear that he’s going to “make those decisions on what I think is best.”

What he thinks is best, he said, is how it will affect a player’s psyche and confidence.

“I'm concerned about the well-being of a young man, all of our guys, everybody,” Dantonio said. “I'm trying to do the very best I can to make sure that psyche is intact.”

And making that decision can be tougher, especially when the player your deciding whether to start or not is a team captain.

“When you lift a guy, especially at a leadership position, who is your captain, that's a big decision, especially when he wants to play,” Dantonio said. “But ultimately you have to do what's best for the team in that situation, but your belief system has to be strong enough that you're going to stand the test of time a little bit, and you're going to stand the public opinion poll a little bit and side with him, and that's what I do.”

But like White, tight end Matt Sokol said it doesn’t matter who starts at quarterback. The Spartans’ offense will stand behind either of them, which Sokol said helps when “they’re really close.”

“I’ve been happy to see how they each collaborate, help each other out, want to see each other succeed,” Sokol said. “I know that, (as) a guy who’s blocking for those guys a lot of the time, all those guys up front, we have trust in both of them, have faith in both of them."