Mel Tucker, Tre Mosley talk Michigan State quarterback competition

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State is in the midst of a quarterback battle for the third season under Mel Tucker, and like the last two, it won’t be decided before the start of fall camp. 

Tucker and his staff will take the month of August to further evaluate Noah Kim and Katin Houser, while also getting a look at true freshman Sam Leavitt, who enrolled in the summer. Kim has the experience advantage over Houser and Leavitt, though he’s only made brief appearances in four games while serving as Payton Thorne’s backup for the past two seasons. 

But Kim, a redshirt junior, has three years of experience in Michigan State’s system, and he performed well in the spring. With Thorne having transferred to Auburn, Kim’s knowledge of the program and versatility has put him in a solid position to become Michigan State’s next starting quarterback. 

“Noah Kim is a winner,” Tucker said at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday. “He knows our system. He understands our culture. He’s very, very talented. He’s got a strong arm, he can make all the throws, he’s hyper-competitive and he’s very mobile. He was in the top 20 fastest players on our roster, between our offense and defense, so he can really get it done in that way. He’s a guy who’s going to be coachable. He’s going to do what we ask him to do. He’s not going to try to do too much.”

But Tucker made sure to point out that the competition between Kim, Houser and Leavitt is still very much open. It will likely remain that way deep into fall camp. Houser, a former four-star recruit, will push Kim during fall camp thanks in part to his physicality and potential. 

“I’m very confident in what he (Kim) can do, but there is competition at that position,” Tucker said. “Katin Houser, (he’s) going into his second year with us and he’s coming in from the west coast. (He has) tremendous arm talent. He makes throws in practice and the coaches are looking around and saying, ‘Did you see that? Did he really do that?’ He’s a big, strong kid, he’s really, really competitive, he’s smart and he has a lot of confidence in himself. He can make all the throws.”

Although Leavitt only arrived in June, Tucker and his staff have liked what they’ve seen from him thus far. Leavitt grew up in a football family – his dad played linebacker at BYU and his brother, Dallin, currently plays safety for the Green Bay Packers – so he knows what it takes to succeed at football’s highest levels.

The talented four-star recruit will get an equal shot at playing time this fall, though he’s working at an experience disadvantage right now. 

“He’s got the pedigree,” Tucker said. “He’s very, very confident. A lot of arm talent, he’s extremely mobile. He’s a big, strong kid. So we’re going to have really good competition. We’re going to pay the best player.”

Michigan State wide receiver Tre Mosley has been with the program since Brian Lewerke was the starting quarterback. He’s seen two quarterback battles play out, and he’s caught passes in games and practices from different guys at the position. 

A redshirt senior and veteran leader on this year’s team, Mosley feels confident in Michigan State’s options at quarterback after assessing the battle from afar this spring. 

“With Noah, he’s a little more versatile with being able to run,” Mosley said. “Katin is a bigger body. They both have great arms. The arm talent is tremendous. And they’re both capable of getting the job done. Either way we go, we’re going to be led by a great quarterback.” 

Mosley is the leader of a promising wide receiver room. The group will try to make life easier for whoever earns the starting job by providing them with consistent, reliable targets in the passing game. 

Mosley hopes that reclaiming some consistency in the passing game will help make this season a memorable one for Michigan State.

“Just being focused on getting back to the basics,” Mosley said of his goals for this year. “Getting back to the things that we did in 2021 so we can have a successful season.”