INDIANAPOLIS — Payton Thorne started parts of the last three seasons at quarterback for the green and white. However, he announced in the offseason his intentions to transfer to Auburn
With Thorne gone, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker will have to play a quarterback who has never started at the collegiate level before.
Tucker has three options. Redshirt junior Noah Kim is one of those choices at signal caller, he threw three touchdowns in his three total games last year. Redshirt freshman Katin Houser is another option. He played just six snaps all season in 2022. All of his reps were against Akron. Finally, Tucker could go with true freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, who told the MSU coach he expects to play in his first fall on campus.
As he enters his fourth year in East Lansing, Tucker says whoever starts will have to be tough, disciplined, and selfless
"It's open," Tucker said. "We'll see how it goes. We just need someone to go in there and do what we ask them to do. Lead, run the offense, takes what the defense gives them. If it's not there, hit the check down, run it or knock a beer out of someone's hands in the stands. Throw it away and go to the next play. Play confident and right football. Don't try to do too much. We have very talented guys in that room. It's a healthy competition but we are going to play the best player. We don't know who that is at this point."
Tre Mosley, the team's top returning wide receiver, expects one thing from who ever gets the honor to be QB1 at Michigan State.
"As a quarterback, you have to be able to have control," Mosley said. "I know sometimes that can be difficult for a guy stepping into a starting role to take on that challenge. To be the starting quarterback, the offense and the team itself are going to be able to need to get behind you and trust that everything you say and do, that you are 100 percent bought in so they can trust you as well."
Tucker also pointed out there are still 25 practices until the first game against Central Michigan. In his second season in East Lansing, he says he didn't know who would start at Northwestern to open the year until Week 1.
There is no timetable for the MSU coach to make a decision at quarterback. However, he made one thing clear: whoever wins the job must be the teams No. 1 competitor.
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