Michigan State football QB room preview: Who’s starting?

Payton Thorne’s job security is in question. Who’s going to be the starting quarterback for Michigan State football in 2023?

After the Peach Bowl win over Pittsburgh at the end of the 2021 season, if you had told me that Payton Thorne’s job security was seriously in doubt, I might think you were crazy. But times changed, performance varied, and new faces were introduced. That all amounts to a legitimate quarterback battle brewing for Michigan State football, and while I have no idea who’s going to win it, I’ll definitely be watching with great interest.

Let’s take a look at the options.

Payton Thorne (Redshirt Senior)

Payton Thorne recorded an outstanding 2021 campaign which saw him set the single-season program record for touchdown passes, throwing 27 scores to only 10 interceptions. He also added 3,240 yards through the air — a season that left no doubt in fans’ minds that he was ‘the guy.’

Since then, though, it appears that Thorne took a sizable step backward, recording only 2,679 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 picks in 2022. While some of that can be attributed to poor offensive line play and lack of a running game, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that Thorne just didn’t look good this past season.

Due to his plentiful experience, plus the fact that he has played very well before, albeit inconsistently, there’s a pretty good chance that Mel Tucker sticks with Thorne as QB1. It seems likely that the veteran’s seat is getting warm, though — there are a few guys who’d like to take his spot, and he’s left the door open for them to do so.

Noah Kim (Redshirt Junior)

It’s been said that every fan’s favorite player on a team is the backup quarterback, and I think that rings true here. There were a lot of calls for Noah Kim when Thorne was struggling, but he didn’t end up with a ton of playing time last year.

He did get enough snaps to make the conversation around him interesting, though.

In three games, Kim went 14-for-19, recording 174 passing yards and three touchdowns. Looking good in limited playing definitely time helps his case, but hardly gives anyone justification to name him the starter. I did like what I saw from him, though, and think he’s got a real shot at the job. If he’s going to, it’s the perfect time for the now-experienced Kim to step into the spotlight.

Katin Houser (Redshirt Freshman)

Katin Houser was probably the guy that fans were the most excited to land in 2022’s recruiting class. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback hailing from St. John Bosco High School in California was a four-star recruit in his cycle and originally committed to Boise State before switching to Michigan State football.

Houser is a talented gunslinger with a strong arm and plenty of mobility, and his profile coming in had fans practically foaming at the mouth. We weren’t able to get much of a look at him, though — he barely played in his freshman season, taking a redshirt and completing 1-of-2 passes for two yards. Although that’s a pretty common path to take, it didn’t give the fanbase a lot to go off of.

Now that he’s had a year of experience within the system, though, and is hopefully all settled in, if Houser is as advertised, I can definitely see him as a real threat for the starting job.

Sam Leavitt (True Freshman)

Sam Leavitt is a seriously talented quarterback. Part of the 2023 recruiting class and hailing from West Linn, Ore., Leavitt was ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 1 player in his state, and the 76th-best overall recruit in his class, according to On3. Even though he’s already ranked pretty highly, there are a lot of people who’d tell you he’s still underrated, and they might not be wrong.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Leavitt is an accurate, mobile, passer with a big arm and a lot of upside. He brings a lot to the table and is definitely one of the most intriguing players on the roster.

To pump the brakes a little, though, I’m not sure if his chances of starting are great due to his status as a true freshman and the issues that can potentially bring, but I definitely can’t rule it out. Even if he may need some time to adjust to the college level, the kid can play, and regardless of whether he’s QB1 this season, he definitely could be sometime in the near future.

If Mel Tucker and Co. can tap into Leavitt’s potential, look out.

Note: Andrew Schorfhaar and Christian Banks are also quarterbacks on the roster, but I don’t expect them to make an impact this year.

Closing thoughts

It’s important to remember that we know essentially nothing about most of the players in this four-way quarterback competition.

As mentioned before, Houser has basically never played in college, and Leavitt has obviously taken zero in-game snaps as an incoming freshman. Kim hasn’t provided a big enough sample size to draw real conclusions from, either. Bear in mind that our assumptions about the state of the group could be totally wrong — only those inside the program know where each player stands.

Ultimately, though, time will tell, and we’re just going to have to see who wins the job. The staff will make their decision on who MSU’s QB1 is, but for now, your guess is as good as mine.

See y’all in September.