Michigan State’s Katin Houser focused on improvement, not QB competition

The biggest talking point throughout Michigan State football’s offseason has been who the Spartans will start at quarterback in 2023.

Incumbent starter Payton Thorne electing to transfer confirmed MSU would trot out a new signal-caller this fall, but the battle wages on between redshirt junior Noah Kim and redshirt freshman Katin Houser for the right to lead Michigan State’s first-team offense.

Thorne’s transfer came as a shock to Houser, but the freshman’s initial surprise quickly became recognition of the opportunity in front of him.

“I realized there was going to be a vacancy for that spot,” the freshman said. “So, just understanding that and realizing that this is my chance to step up and go take the job is something that I took really seriously.”

Ambition and excitement only takes one so far. Over the past three months, Houser has honed in on areas of his game in need of improvement to give the freshman a legit chance to win the starting job. One area of improvement offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson pointed out to Houser was command of the offense.

Last week, during the Spartans’ first day of fall practice, Houser believed he showed growth in that department.

“I’ve been taking strides throughout this whole experience, and everyday I feel like I’m getting a little bit better,” he said. “I think I came out and showed command from the jump. There’s definitely still some things I need to clean up. I’m not perfect yet, but definitely from the start I feel like I had more command than when I first came in.”

As a second-year guy, competing with a four-year veteran, earning the respect and trust of his teammates is another important step if Houser is to beat out Kim, who’s had more time to bond and develop friendships with teammates. In order to convince Michigan State’s coaches that he’s ready for that responsibility, Houser must first convince the other guys in the locker room.

“I’m a young guy and there’s a lot of older guys on the team,” Houser said. “It’s hard for a young guy to come up and try to just lead the team. So, [Johnson] wants to see that from me. He wants to see me take command and be confident, and run the offense.”

Michigan State has two more weeks of fall camp, before another week of game preparation heading into the season-opener against Central Michigan. At Big Ten Media Days, head coach Mel Tucker said he doesn’t have a timeline on deciding who the starting quarterback will be. It could run all the way up until game day.

“It is what it is,” Houser said of MSU’s starting quarterback potentially remaining ambiguous up until game day. “The coaches have to make a decision. They can take as much time as they need, so I feel like I just have to be ready at all times. Even if I’m not the starter day one, I feel like I’ve got to be ready at all times to go in and play.”

While who will come out on top between Houser and Kim has been a primary focus of the Spartan faithful, that’s not what the competitors have chosen to dwell on, according to the freshman.

“Me and Noah are pretty close, so we kind of just talked about it,” Houser said. “We understood that it was going to be a quarterback competition, we knew that we were going to have to compete against each other, but we’re friends. We know what we have to do.”

What Houser and Kim need to do is be one of the reasons Michigan State improves upon a disappointing 5-7 campaign last season. Which quarterback gives the Spartans the best chance to do that is, again, up to MSU’s coaches to decide. Houser’s focus is elsewhere.

“I’m focused on the team right now,” he said. “As a quarterback room…we’re not really thinking about the competition, competing with one another. We’re competing against our defense. We’re trying to beat our defense right now in fall camp. That’s my focus for this month.

“I feel like the competition is something that’s just out there, but…I’m not looking too much into that. I’m just trying to go out there, be the best football player I can be right now.”