College football: Michigan State vs. Northwestern - October 15, 2016

Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke (14) throws a pass while warming up before their Big Ten football game against Northwestern at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, on Saturday, October 15, 2016.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

Michigan State fans got an unexpected late Christmas present from the frontrunner to be its 2017 starting quarterback.

David Lewerke, the father of Spartans' rising sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke, posted a video on Twitter this week of his son dropping back and delivering a pass during a workout near their home in Arizona.

The video comes just eight weeks after Lewerke suffered a broken tibia during Michigan State's loss to Michigan on Oct. 29.

In the short video, Lewerke plants on his left leg and delivers a short crossing route of about 10 yards.

The throw is a small glimpse, but it provides further hope to Michigan State fans that Lewerke's season-ending injury in 2016 won't be a significant hindrance in preparations for 2017.

Lewerke's injury didn't require surgery immediately after it happened. He spent six weeks in a walking boot, and Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said in his season-ending press conference on Dec. 15 that he had begun already walking uninhibited.

Dantonio said then that he expected Lewerke to be "moving some" when the team reconvened following the holiday break and began its winter conditioning program. The fact that he's already making throws furthers the likelihood that Lewerke will be in good shape for spring football, when Michigan State's 2017 quarterback race will continue.

Despite the broken leg, Dantonio has called Lewerke -- who played in four games this year with two starts -- the frontrunner in the Spartans' offseason race.

"I think he's done enough to warrant him to be the guy to beat out." Dantonio said.

Speaking to Sports360AZ.com earlier this month, Lewerke said he was buoyed by those comments.

"I was pretty excited when he said that," Lewerke said. "It also made me made me motivated to prove that he is right in what he's saying."