Breaking down Michigan State football QB battle: Noah Kim edition

Michigan State football Twitter is divided. There is a fight for the top quarterback spot between Noah Kim and Katin Houser.

Immediately after last year’s loss to Indiana, the quarterback position for Michigan State football was up for grabs. In his end of the year press conferences, Mel Tucker made it clear that no spot was safe headed into 2023.

Payton Thorne was one year removed from a record-setting season for the Spartans, as the threat of Kenneth Walker III made passing lanes open up for the signal-caller. With the threats of Connor Heyward and Jalen Nailor gone, as well as Walker, Thorne regressed in 2022.

After missing a snap with injury against Western Michigan, Thorne never retained any rhythm, having bipolar performances. Against Washington, Thorne and Keon Coleman were trying to win the game themselves. Against Minnesota, the quarterback had multiple red zone turnovers. To compound things, he would be losing his best target in Jayden Reed.

This offseason, Thorne appeared determined, being the first non-special teamer to take the field for Michigan State’s spring practice that was open to the public. He looked better, making multiple good throws and leading the Spartans to a score in a two minute drill via a quarterback scramble. With Thorne fully healthy, the Spartan faithful could see a return of 2021 Payton Thorne. Instead, he entered the transfer portal on April 30.

Additionally, the Spartans lost their top player, Coleman, to the portal that same day.

That leaves the Spartans in this precarious situation now. Thorne is now at Auburn, leaving two quarterbacks to fight for the right to be the next Spartan starting quarterback.

Noah Kim

Noah Kim has always been the underdog. Despite his prolific high school record with 40 wins and two losses, his offer list contained three FBS offers: Michigan State, Virginia Tech, and Western Michigan.

At the time, Western Michigan was looking to for a quarterback after missing out on their primary target of the 2019 class, Payton Thorne, and settling for a two-star prospect. Additionally, despite Kim’s upside as a dual-threat, he was listed as a pro style quarterback via 247Sports. He was barely in the top 60 pro style quarterbacks in the nation, ranking 58th. In the state of Virginia, Kim was outside the top 30 in prospects.

The three-star was viewed as a depth piece for the Spartans, with the upside of seeing the field during blowouts. He was the last quarterback commit under coach Mark Dantonio, and stayed with the Spartans after his hasty exit the day before National Signing Day.

While Thorne flourished in 2021, Kim spent his redshirt freshman year as QB3 on the depth chart, mired behind both Thorne and Temple transfer Anthony Russo. The only time Kim was QB2, after Russo was suspended for an off the field incident for a game; Kim did not see the field. The only two times a backup quarterback saw the field for the Spartans in 2021, Russo took those reps.

Leading into 2022, there was hype for two quarterbacks for the Spartans: Thorne and incoming freshman Katin Houser. The latter, the first “blue chip” quarterback commit under Mel Tucker (sorry, Hamp Fay), had everyone, myself included, as the presumed heir to Thorne. Kim was again forgotten about and overlooked.

Then, the season started. Kim quietly won the backup job, and in his second game as a backup (and first of 2022), was called on. Thorne’s injury against Western Michigan forced him to sit out for a play, and Kim drew a pass interference on a deep shot. Ironically, this means that Kim did not record a statistic in his first career game. See a theme of Kim being overlooked?

When the Spartans played Akron, Kim got to see his first extended look at the field. With Thorne nursing an injury from the previous week, he was pulled to start the second half and Kim came in. He went 2-for-2 for 22 yards and a touchdown to Tre Mosley. In that game, everyone was talking about the backup playing. However, it was all about the first career reps for Houser.

The first time we got to see what Kim could do came against Minnesota. Thorne, as mentioned earlier, could not get out of his own way that game. He was relatively efficient, being 17-for-24, but two interceptions and a fumble doomed the Spartans. With the game lost, Mel Tucker brought in his backups to gain experience. This is where the real story of Kim begins.

The Spartans struggled against Minnesota all day, and were looking at their first shut out in an attended Spartan Stadium since 1985 (note the word attended, as the Spartans were shut out in 2020 against Indiana during the pandemic). Kim entered the game with the ball on the MSU 25 and under two minutes remaining. He led the team down the field, making a few small plays. The Spartans entered fourth-and-2 with a shutout loss on the line. Kim delivered a 15-yard pass to Cade McDonald and the Spartans have another chance to score. Now, with just under 20 seconds remaining Kim drops back and delivers the best pass the Michigan State faithful had seen all day.  His 27-yard strike to Germie Bernard helps the Spartans avoid a shutout.

The next week, Tucker affirms that Thorne is the starter for the Spartans. Kim does not see the field against Maryland.

Against Ohio State, even the most loyal Michigan State football fan admits things looked grim. On the first drive, Thorne led the Spartans into OSU territory, but is then intercepted on a deep shot. Thorne eventually leads the Spartans on a scoring drive, but it is 49-13 and nearly every time Thorne dropped back, he has an Ohio State defender or three staring him in the face. Tucker elects to put Noah Kim in, presumably to be the next player meeting the turf or spiking the ball on each drop back. Once again, Kim surprises. After a pair of three-and-out his first two series, Kim leads the Spartans to another scoring drive. Kim cannot maintain the momentum for the next drive, with another three-and-out to wrap up the game.

Despite leading two scoring drives against two Big Ten defenses in five total drives, Kim would not see the field the rest of the season. Now, he had the crowd on his side, calling for him when the offense languished and Thorne trotted out, battered and injured.

That leads us to where we are now. Kim is now a redshirt junior who was seen multiple Big Ten defenses. In the spring game, Kim looked inconsistent. He followed a bad series with a great set of passes, and then got the call to play the second set of two minute drills for the Spartans. Just like he did against Minnesota the previous fall, Kim started with a few small gains, and then had a massive pass to a young receiver to give the Spartans a scoring drive. In fact, the spot Kim delivered the ball to Antonio Gates Jr. should be within a few yards of where his strike to Germie Bernard was last fall.

One of the top questions after the spring game was “Why did Houser not get a two minute drill?” Tucker’s response was that players practices earned their spot, was subsequently overblown by the media. People would state the beauty of Kim’s throw, but then question for Houser. Even in his prime chance to shine, people called for Kim’s competition.

Any time you are ready to write Kim out, he prevails. In high school, Kim broke his leg his junior year, giving him his first career loss. The next year, he led Westfield right back to an undefeated regular season. He is a sneakily athletic quarterback who was overlooked. Kim is the last of the Dantonio-era quarterbacks, and he fits the mold of what Coach D built in the mid-2010s. I’ll go as far as to say that Coach D might have saved the best for last with Kim.

Houser has the prestige, the arm strength, and some of the top figures of Michigan State football Twitter going to bat for him. Kim has the athleticism, the collegiate experience, and the unwavering belief in himself.

With Thorne transferring out, Kim has his eyes on the prize. He’s the underdog. That’s OK, he has been his whole career.