Noah Kim embraces 'opportunity' in Michigan State QB battle, no matter the competition

East Lansing — Noah Kim hasn’t wavered since the 2022 season ended.
It was a difficult one for the Spartans, particularly the offense. And as Michigan State headed into an uncertain offseason after winning just five games, coach Mel Tucker declared an open competition for every position on the field, including quarterback.
Michigan State quarterback Noah Kim appeared in four games last season, going 14-for-19 passing for 174 yards and three touchdowns.
So, it mattered little to Kim that, at that point, he had played only a handful of snaps and was faced with the task of not only beating out his younger, highly ranked teammates to be Michigan State’s starting quarterback, but he’d have to overcome his friend, Payton Thorne, who happened to have started the previous two seasons and whose name is among the top passers in program history.
It was a daunting task, to be sure, and when Thorne announced after the end of spring practice he was entering the transfer portal — he ultimately ended up at Auburn — it seemed to open a door for Kim, who is now in his fourth year in the program.
For Kim, though, it didn’t mean as much. Because, after all, he always intended to be in the thick of the fight to become the starter.
“I think I saw it as my opportunity to compete for the spot whether he was here or not,” Kim said Thursday after Michigan State’s first practice of preseason camp. “That's just kind of how I took it. Him leaving didn't really change anything or change my mindset at all.”
Nor has his mindset changed when it comes to who is still in the room, namely redshirt freshman Katin Houser and freshman Sam Leavitt, both four-star prospects who have the same goal of becoming the starter.
“I think you have to put your head down and work,” Kim explained. “Nothing's given to you. You have to earn everything you get and so that’s my mindset. But at the same time, you have to have the leadership of, if I'm going to be the starter, I’ve got to have the right mindset in camp, practice and stuff like that. So, there's many ways to approach this competition and I’m just focusing on me and what I need to do with the team and stuff like that. It’s gonna take care of myself.”
Kim has done what he could as a backup biding his time behind Thorne. As a redshirt freshman in 2021 he watched Thorne take off and lead the high-powered offense as the third-string quarterback behind No. 2 Anthony Russo. Last season, as Thorne’s primary backup, Kim got more of an opportunity, appearing in four games and going 14-for-19 passing for 174 yards and three touchdowns.
It was the first chance Kim had to show those outside of the program what he could do and it was enough to make it a competition heading into the offseason.
And while Thorne has moved on, Kim said he learned plenty from his former golf partner.
“I’m trying to get better at leading every single day and I think that’s one thing Payton did well,” Kim said. “There are some things I could take away from his game, including his leadership. If I could do some of the things he did and take bits and pieces from other people around me like Tre Mosley — he’s a great leader on his team — and just taking bits and pieces from each other, I think it's going to better ourselves as a team.”
Judging by Day One, Kim says he’s already seeing a better team.
“I thought we practiced at a very high pace,” Kim said. “That’s one of the things Coach Tucker wanted us to do, make the practices harder than the games. And for day one, I thought we did that.”
Of course, it’s early and Houser surely will keep nipping at Kim’s heels. After all, Houser comes with high expectations and it seems only a matter of time before he gets his shot.
It’s something he admits became more of a reality when Thorne transferred.
“I heard rumors before,” Houser said of Thorne’s ultimate departure. “But then just hearing the news, I kind of figured that's where he was going. I mean, it was kind of a shock, because he was a leader for our team. I realized that there's going to be a vacancy for that spot. So it's just understanding that and realizing that this is my chance to step up and take the job is something that I took really seriously.”
As for Leavitt, it will take some time for him to digest the offense as he gets used to life on campus. For now, though, all the quarterbacks are doing what they can with the opportunity.
As for Tucker, who played close attention to the quarterbacks Thursday, he liked what he saw from the three vying to become the starter.
“What I saw … was really good competition," Tucker said. “I was impressed with those guys. (Offensive coordinator) Jay Johnson is an excellent coach. He’s a very good teacher. I've seen him bring Noah along and Katin along. And Sam’s even gotten better since he's been here a short period of time because we were able to work with him over the summer.
“So very good competition, a lot of good balls being thrown. Really good communication, guys on the same page with the formations and checks. So it was good work out of that group.”