Michigan State football: Gut feeling regarding the Spartans’ QB1

Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker was tight-lipped when asked about his QB1. Here’s my gut feeling heading into Friday.

I could not feel any more confused heading into the 2023 Michigan State football season.

The Spartans just had a disappointing 5-7 season and they lost their best offensive weapon and a two-year starter at quarterback. They do, however, return a deep room at receiver to make fans feel comfortable there, easing the Keon Coleman loss, as well as top tight end Maliq Carr. On top of that, Nathan Carter transferred in to inject life into the run game.

There’s hope.

The confusion comes when I ponder the quarterback position. There are three guys who could legitimately start this season but the race seems to be down to two.

Mel Tucker made sure to include Sam Leavitt in the conversation earlier this summer when speaking of the quarterback battle. But in reality, the freshman was on the outside looking in. Leavitt may be the most naturally-gifted quarterback in the room, but he has to get more comfortable in the offense and learn the playbook. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which he beat out both Noah Kim and Katin Houser.

Speaking of that two-man race, Tucker has kept everything to himself concerning the quarterback battle. He has spoken highly of both Houser and Kim but admitted on Monday that we won’t know the starter until Friday when the offense trots onto the field against Central Michigan. We, as in the fans, won’t know. He’s already made his decision.

Which isn’t all that surprising. It’s good to name a starter, at least internally, before Week 1.

But with Tucker being so tight-lipped about his quarterback, that has led to plenty of speculation. Do you go with the younger guy who probably has a slightly stronger arm and bigger, Big Ten-ready frame who was recruited by Tucker? Or do you go with the veteran who has learned the ropes, has the ability to run, and might be the safer play?

It’s really a toss-up. And everyone has an opinion.

In fact, this might be the most hotly-debated quarterback battle since Connor Cook vs. Andrew Maxwell. The fanbase is split right down the middle. A lot of fans want the safe pick (Kim) while the rest want the young gun who potentially has a higher ceiling (Houser). So what’s the decision?

If I’m going just by what my gut tells me, I think Kim is the pick. It just seems safe and he was the leader for the starting job heading into fall camp. And the fact that he and Houser were neck-and-neck shows me that Tucker will probably go with the guy who was the backup last year and hasn’t fallen off. He trusted Kim more last season and that makes me think he’ll roll with the fourth-year quarterback to start 2023 against CMU.

Does this mean that Kim is locked in as QB1 for the season? No, I believe that Houser will get a legitimate shot to prove his worth in the first two weeks. Plus, I would hope that Tucker wouldn’t allow Kim to struggle as QB1 without making changes. He needs to coach with a sense of urgency, so playing both guys in the first two games would make sense.

Here’s exactly what I see playing out on Friday night, like it or not:

• Kim starts.
• Kim plays the first three quarters.
• Houser comes in during the fourth quarter and gets a few throws in.
• That will lead to Kim getting the start against Richmond.

Honestly, we won’t know who the true QB1 is until the Washington game. If Kim struggles mightily against Washington, a switch to Houser to see what he can do will be in the cards. If Kim plays well, he keeps the job.

I have no inside info here, just gut feels. Kim will likely be QB1 to start the season, but who ends the year in that spot?