Couch: This is Noah Kim's moment at MSU, whether he wins starting quarterback job or not
EAST LANSING – It’s hard not to root for Noah Kim. For the quarterback who’s waited his turn. For the guy who stayed, not knowing that incumbent starter Payton Thorne was leaving.
Whether or not Kim wins the starting job, this is his moment at Michigan State. I’m glad he’s getting it.
It’s good to see a fourth-year junior and a product of the final recruiting class of the previous coaching staff choose to compete, trust his abilities and get his shot, and from the pole position, no less. It sets an example for young quarterbacks at MSU and elsewhere that patience can still pay off.
I’d be surprised if Kim isn’t the starter for the Spartans’ Sept. 1 opener against Central Michigan. He carries himself like a starter, talks like a guy who knows what’s ahead and, reading the tea leaves, I think the coaches trust him more than they do the other QBs right now.
Understandably so. This is Kim’s fourth year in offensive coordinator Jay Johnson’s system. His fourth August in college football. He’s thrown 19 passes at MSU, three for touchdowns and played in four games, all of them last season. He’s spent a full season as the No. 2 QB, a snap away from being called into action, preparing each week like he might be needed.
Doesn’t sound like much, maybe, but it’s considerable experience relative to the two other quarterbacks in the competition — redshirt freshman Katin Houser and true freshman Sam Leavitt, two West Coast gunslingers, both of whom are more heralded prospects than Kim. Both, you’ll hear, have exceptional “arm talent.”
But until that’s no longer the first attribute said about them, they won’t be MSU’s starting quarterback. Houser, who’s been on campus for a year and a half, is trying to prove to the coaches he’s ready. His command of the offense, Johnson said, is “really, really good.”
I think it’s likely Houser will see game action the first couple weeks, against CMU and Richmond.
But on a team with so many unknowns and trying to shake off the scars of a 5-7 season, the quarterback who brings the coaches the most comfort is likely to be the one under center. Mel Tucker has all but declared that the most important qualities of his quarterback are smart decisions and living to play another down. It’s hard to imagine how that’s anyone other than Kim out of the chute.
How things then unfold for MSU’s quarterbacks once the games begin — once the 300-pound linemen on the other side of the ball are allowed to hit them — will play out in plain sight. Kim will have to continue to win the job throughout the season.
“We can't expect any of these guys to be perfect,” Johnson said Monday. “But I want to see what (they) do after that imperfect play. Because that's going to matter on Saturdays.”
My sense is that most fans are curious about Kim, happy to give him a chance — even the most ardent fans in the online cult of Houser.
We’ll see how the support for Kim holds up. A fan’s love is conditional. And the curiosity surrounding Houser right now and eventually Leavitt is going to make for a fickle crowd.
But if you’re doubting whether Kim — a slender, 6-foot-2, 185-pound 22-year-old from Centreville, Virginia — can hold off two of the bigger recruits of the Tucker era, I’ll remind you that rarely in modern MSU history has the best quarterback prospect wound up being the guy.
Ryan Van Dyke couldn’t unseat Bill Burke. Keith Nichol lost out to Kirk Cousins. Andrew Maxwell didn’t live up to his billing. One of the highlights of Damion Terry’s MSU career wound up being the fans at Spartan Stadium chanting his name as he stood on the sidelines as a true freshman. A few weeks later, a mediocre prospect named Connor Cook found his stride. A couple years later, Messiah deWeaver was an important recruit for MSU, but finished his career at Old Dominion.
In other words, we never have any idea how quarterbacks will hold up against the pressure of the position and the quick decisions required in a live game. We still don’t know about Kim.
Johnson said Monday that he would have felt comfortable using Kim last season if Thorne had been too hobbled to play. But they never went to Kim with a game still in doubt, despite Thorne being physically limited at times.
Entering the spring, Tucker declared the quarterback position an open competition, which surprised Thorne. I don’t know who ultimately would’ve won the job if Thorne had stayed — it’s tough to beat out someone who’s started 26 games. But it seemed clear from spring practices, including an open scrimmage at the end, that Kim was ready to play.
He was ready for an August battle, thinking he’d be the underdog. Then Thorne left.
“I know what I have to offer. And so I just keep reminding myself of that,” Kim said last week. “No matter what happens here, I'm always here to compete. And with whoever it is, it doesn't matter — freshmen, someone older than me, whatever the case is, I'm here to compete and I'm confident in myself. And I think that's just one of the things that kept me here. I'm confident that I could play here. And that's what I want to do.”
It looks like he’ll get that shot.
Like Thorne before his first season as a starter — before he’d won the job in 2021 — Kim invited several of his teammates to work out with him this summer in Virginia. Three of MSU’s projected top receivers — Tre Mosley, Montorie Foster and Christian Fitzpatrick — split the gas money and made the trek to Kim’s home, where, for four days, they practiced during the day and enjoyed Kim’s father’s cooking at night.
The moves of a leader, of a starting quarterback.
“I really felt like even a year ago, his approach kind of changed, changed for the better. And he became a lot more locked in and focused,” Johnson said. “He’s really carried that now to this level. Because obviously it is very much a different situation. He's the oldest guy in the room. He's been with us the longest, and, from an experience standpoint of knowing (what needs to be done), it bodes well for him.”
MORE: Couch: A look at the biggest what-ifs in Michigan State football and basketball history
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU football: This is Noah Kim's moment to be MSU's quarterback
