Rutgers fans waiting for a sneak peek of the future are going to have to keep waiting.

The question is: How long? A few more days? Or until September 2018?

Rutgers coach Chris Ash didn't name a starting quarterback Monday, leaving a battle lingering between true freshman Johnathan Lewis and redshirt junior Giovanni Rescigno for the final week of practice.

"The quarterback situation is the same," Ash said. "The last couple weeks we have had conversations about the quarterback position a lot. We'll go through the week and evaluate it, and we'll play the person that gives us the best chance to win this Saturday.



"And if that's Johnathan, great. If it's Gio (or) someone else, we'll manage that through the week, evaluate that through the week and make a decision later on who gives us the best chance to go out and play our best game."

If Lewis gets the call Saturday against Michigan State, it will be his first career start.

But Ash wanted to keep Monday's focus on the seniors, with it being the final home game in their careers.

Rutgers' bowl hopes died during a 41-0 flattening at Indiana. Combine that with Thanksgiving weekend -- and students on break -- and plenty of tickets are available on the secondary market for a national television broadcast on FOX.

But Lewis has been labeled the quarterback of the future since he committed in April 2016. The diehards in the fan base are calling for an extended look for Lewis, be it off the bench or in a start.

Ash said he won't wait until kickoff to decide.

"That's what's right for the team," Ash said. "But we are not going to make a decision on Monday.



"We have got to go through some practices and we've got to look at what we need to do against Michigan State, which is a very good defense and see who gives us the best chance to win.

The hype around Lewis only grew when he was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week after accounting for five touchdowns (four on the ground and one through the air) in Week 3 against Morgan State.

But Lewis' snaps have been limited since then and his development has been slowed by an ankle injury.

Lewis had just two total snaps in a five-game span, including four straight games in which he did not play, before getting extensive action for the second time this season in mop-up duty against Indiana.

Ash said replacing Rescigno, who hasn't thrown for more than 107 yards in any game this season, against Indiana was more a product of the score than of evaluating Lewis.

Rescigno replaced Louisville graduate transfer Kyle Bolin as Rutgers starter after five games and is 3-3 with a script of limiting turnovers, handing off to a multi-headed rushing attack and letting defense and special teams win games.

But Rutgers offense has plummeted toward the bottom of the 129-team national rankings: No. 119 in scoring offense, No. 124 in passing offense and No. 128 in total offense.

And Michigan State has arguably the No. 1 defense in the Big Ten.

So it won't be easy sledding for either quarterback.

Lewis is 8-for-22 for 69 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also has 32 carries for 128 yards.

Ash admitted just two weeks ago that Lewis isn't ready to operate a passing attack, but Rutgers' game plan has been run-oriented all season. Don't expect that to change.

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.