Mel Tucker updates Michigan State’s QB competition ahead of spring game

Mel Tucker is looking to guide Michigan State out of a 5-7 and back to the success the program had during the 2021 season.

After a season with such disappointing results and an offense that averaged just 24.4 points per game, Tucker and his staff are conducting an open quarterback competition. Two-year starter Payton Thorne is back but accounted for 11 interceptions and saw his yards per attempt drop by more than a yard from his 2021 breakout season.

On Monday, Tucker addressed the QB battle and said things are still open. “All the guys are competing at a high level,” said Tucker. He also said the competition will “be that way for a while.”

Tucker on second scrimmage Saturday: “I thought the guys played hard, it was competitive. … It was a good back-and-forth, offense and defense.” Says it was physical and fast. Calls the QB situation “still an open competition. All the guys are competing at a high level.”

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) April 10, 2023

Tucker on the QB competition: “It’s still an open competition and it’s gonna be that way for awhile.”

— Matt Charboneau (@mattcharboneau) April 10, 2023

Outlook for 2023

Mel Tucker can talk glowingly about the group of QBs all he wants, but sooner or later, a leader has to emerge and separate himself from the pack. While Payton Thorne has a gigantic head start in terms of production and time in the locker room, it sure looks like Tucker is giving every QB a legitimate shot at the job.

Noah Kim has played sparingly in a reserve role behind Thorne, and it’s possible Katin Houser — a former 4-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class — is the most talented of the group. We’ll see if either can unseat Thorne as the starter when the fall rolls around.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.