Michigan State Spring Football Kickoff: Observations on the offense

On the afternoon of April 15, Michigan State held its "Spartan Football Kickoff" event in Spartan Stadium under blue skies and unseasonably warm weather. The format of the event was more of a structured practice than a traditional spring game, complete with stretching and position drills.

In real time, it was possible to gain some insight into the future of the Spartan program. However, a closer look at the Big Ten Network broadcast (with is benefit of the "rewind" button) provided a chance to get a better handle on the various position battles on both sides of the ball. Remember, though, that this is only the spring, and things can and will likely change by the fall.

In today's piece, let's focus on the offensive side of the ball and the status of the five major position groups, starting with the quarterbacks.

In the early phases on the event, the top-three quarterbacks on the roster (redshirt senior Payton Thorne, redshirt junior Noah Kim, and redshirt freshman Katin Houser) rotated through the drills evenly, with no one player seeming to have the advantage in reps.

As the event wore on, however, it become increasing clear that Thorne is currently the No. 1 quarterback, Kim is No. 2 and Houser is No. 3, at least based on what was shown on Saturday, which head coach Mel Tucker said was "very indicative of what we've seen out of those guys throughout the spring.” Still, this competition will go into the fall and it is way too early to make any kind of definitive declarations for the 2023 season.

In the final period of the event where the offense attempted to score a touchdown in under a minute of game time, Thorne went first with the No. 1 offense and Kim went second with the No. 2 offense.

In reviewing the broadcast, this priority became even more clear. Thorne did not do much until the final segment of the event, but he was honestly not asked to do much. I only charted him with 10 meaningful snaps prior to the two-minute drill, five of which were run plays.

That said, Thorne was sharp in the final sequence, completing 5-of-6 passes to five different receivers before using his legs to score a 15-yard touchdown. I charted Thorne at an efficient 7-for-10 and approximately 56 yards with only one bad throw, based on the plays shown on the broadcast.

Noah Kim took the most meaningful snaps (22) of the three quarterbacks in the later half of the event. He also generated the most impressive plays of the afternoon, including back-to-back tosses to redshirt freshman receiver Antonio Gates Jr. to close out the afternoon. Kim was the most aggressive quarterback on the field, and I charted a total of six completions of 10 yards or more.

Overall, I credit Kim with 9-for-17 passing and 113 yards, including two drops that could have been catches. That said, I also charted Kim with five bad throws, including two near interceptions, and three passes that missed badly. Kim appears to be a potentially high risk/high reward player at this point in his development.

Regarding Houser, I charted the redshirt freshman with a total of 15 meaningful snaps, seven of which were run plays. As the scrimmage wore on, he was increasingly paired with the second-string or third-string offense. Overall, I credited him with 5-for-8 passing and roughly 70 yards. Houser basically had a few good throws and a few bad ones, and that was about it.

His best play of the day was likely a connection on a crossing route to redshirt senior walk-on tight end Jackson Morse, who ran away from the third- (or fourth-) string defense for roughly 40 yards as they essentially gave up on the play. I am not sure we learned much from that specific play.