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Michigan State quarterbacks: Who replaces Payton Thorne, now in transfer portal

Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read
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Michigan State quarterbacks room is losing its biggest piece, after incumbent starter Payton Thorne entered into the NCAA transfer portal ahead of Sunday's deadline.

The Spartans had what was deemed an open QB competition this spring that was expected to rollover into the summer, but Thorne was the clear favorite over Noah Kim and Katin Houser.

What will fourth-year head coach Mel Tucker do between now and the Sept. 1 season opener vs. Central Michigan at Spartan Stadium?

Here's a look at the QBs on the MSU roster.

TRENDING: Keon Coleman, Michigan State's leading WR, enters NCAA transfer portal

Michigan State quarterbacks

Noah Kim, redshirt junior

Vitals: 6 feet 2, 185 pounds.

Hometown: Centreville, Virginia.

Analysis: Played 38 snaps over four games last season as Thorne's backup. He was 14-for-19 passing for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Entered late in the Ohio State game and completed 6 of 10 passes for 82 yards and a 25-yard touchdown pass. Good arm strength, but can be a bit erratic with accuracy. Has the agility to extend plays when pressured.

Kim emerged from the 15 spring practices confident he could push for the starting spot.

“I don't think a job is secure as of right now,” Kim said April 15. “I don't think it's possible that it can be secured by anyone. I think there's still a lot of time to compete. No matter who the coaches have up, if they have choices they want to go with right now, it doesn't really matter.”

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Katin Houser, redshirt freshman

Quarterback Katin Houser (12) runs through some drills at the Michigan State Spring Game in Spartan Stadium Saturday, April 15, 2023.
Quarterback Katin Houser (12) runs through some drills at the Michigan State Spring Game in Spartan Stadium Saturday, April 15, 2023.

Vitals: 6-3, 213.

Hometown: Anaheim, California.

Analysis: Completed 1 of 2 passes for 2 yards, and ran 13 yards in six snaps last season, all coming late in a blowout win over Akron. Improvement between when he enrolled last spring to his second spring is evident.

“I feel like I’m a lot more confident than I was last year,” Houser said April 15. “I feel like last year, I was kind of thrown into the fire and expected to make plays, and you kind of didn’t really know what to do. Right now, I feel like I’m confident going out there and know what to do and command the offense. I just gotta do that more consistently from now forward.”

AFTER SPRING GAME: Here's what all 3 Michigan State football QBs said about starting battle

Sam Leavitt, freshman

West Linn's Sam Leavitt (10) runs the ball during the 6A OSAA state championship game against Sheldon on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022 at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore.
West Linn's Sam Leavitt (10) runs the ball during the 6A OSAA state championship game against Sheldon on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022 at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore.

Vitals: 6-2, 197.

Hometown: West Linn, Oregon.

Analysis: Leavitt has a big arm, good vision and a gunslinger mentality to try and fit throws into tight windows in traffic and down the field. Four-star recruit in the class of 2023, ranked the top player in Oregon, No. 20 QB in the nation and No. 310 overall player, on the 247Sports composite.

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Andrew Schorfhaar, redshirt junior

Vitals: 6-2, 195.

Hometown: DeWitt.

Bio: Has not appeared in a game. Academic All-Big Ten honoree for the second straight year in 2022.

Free Press sports writer Chris Solari contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State quarterbacks: Who replaces Payton Thorne