Harlon Barnett downplays locker room concerns amid quarterback uncertainty

Considering all things, there’s plenty that could splinter Michigan State with the state that they find themselves in. Still, if anything were to do it, the Spartans’ reopened quarterback competition from over the bye week isn’t going to according to Harlon Barnett.

Barnett addressed any potential impact that the battle between Noah Kim, Katin Houser, and Sam Leavitt had had on the locker room on Monday. In his opinion, he felt as though it had no effect at all considering there’s a mutual understanding about who does and doesn’t get to play at every position on their team.

“The guys? They just know that they want to win. They want to win. And they know that we’re going to give them the best opportunity to with, with quarterback or any other position for that matter,” said Barnett. “They’re all teammates and they all root for one another. They all know the best players play and we’re all competing every day for our jobs. So I don’t think there’s a split in the locker room or anything like that. Guys just want to win football games.”

“That’s really all it boils down to and it doesn’t just boil down to the quarterback either. It’s all positions,” Barnett explained. “Like I was talking earlier, we showed where everybody could have done something better, made plays, and did things. So it’s not just the quarterback.”

Kim’s play over the first five games opened this position back up for conversation. He started off hot in their first two games with a 70% completion rate, 571 yards, and five touchdowns. However, against their three Power Five opponents, he then fell off a cliff with 50.6% completion, under 200 yards in every game, one touchdown, and five interceptions in a trio of double-digit losses.

That has left the door open for a pair of freshmen to reenter the conversation. As a redshirt, Houser has completed 56.3% of his passes for 158 yards and a pick in four appearances. Meanwhile, as a true freshman, Leavitt saw his only action against Maryland as he went 2-2 for nine yards.

Both were four-star prospects and Top-25 QB recruits in their respective classes.

In East Lansing, Barnett is simply going to let the best men, or, in this case, man, win. The players understand that fully which is why he continued to downplay any concerns that the quarterback question might be generating within their building.

“They understand that and the quarterback is no different – the best players play,” said Barnett. “That’s how we’re going to do it.”