Mel Tucker updates what he sees from quarterback battle

Mel Tucker has been clear all through spring: It’s an open competition for the Michigan State starting quarterback job. And he expects it to remain that way for some time.

As the spring has progressed and incumbent Payton Thorne has duked it out with challengers Katin Houser and Noah Kim, Tucker has generally been satisfied with what he’s seen. With competition and a shot at the starting job pushing them all along, Tucker has seen improvement in all three.

“Now, with the quarterback situation, it’s still an open competition. It’s going to be that way for a while. But all the guys are competing at a high level. And I think they’re all developing and I think they’re all getting better,” Tucker said.

Thorne has the most experience of the three by far. He’s been Michigan State’s starter for the last two seasons and flashed tremendous promise, especially as a sophomore in 2021. Michigan State won 11 games and Thorne passed for more than 3000 yards while chucking 27 touchdowns to 10 picks. He regressed in 2022 as the Spartans did so as a whole. But with a return to his 2021 form, Thorne could be the triggerman on a potent passing attack.

When Thorne struggled at times in 2022, it was Kim spelling him. He appeared in four games and threw just 19 passes, but he completed 14 of them for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Kim was a solid recruit out of high school, a three-star prospect from Virginia in the 2020 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Kim has a minuscule sample size of in-game reps, but if he’s out-performing the other quarterbacks in practice, Tucker and Co. have shown they’re willing to put him in the fire.

Houser is a wildcard, as the youngest and most highly-touted as a recruit of the trio. The headliner in the 2022 signing class for Michigan State, Houser was rated four stars and the No. 13 quarterback in the class per the On3 Industry Ranking. He appeared in one game and attempted two passes last season, preserving his eligibility. With the potential to be the quarterback of the future at Michigan State, if the coaches think he’s ready, he could be the quarterback of the present.

As for the rest of the team? Tucker is all about competition there too. Basically every position features players trying to solidify or take over a role; there are few, if any, starters locked in to position right now. Tucker saw that competition level in a recent scrimmage.

“I thought the guys played hard, it was very competitive. We have competition pretty much at every position. Guys needing to prove it every single day. Earn their role. It was good back and forth, offense and defense. We got a lot of good work on special teams as well. And all the guys got a lot of good work. I thought it was physical. Saw some guys flying around on defense. Got some hands on some balls in the backend, which was good. And it was just very, very competitive,” Tucker said.