Michigan State Football: 4 key observations from 2023 spring scrimmage

4. Payton Thorne, Noah Kim are neck-and-neck for QB1

Just as we suspected, there were two quarterbacks that stood tall above the rest. But what we didn’t suspect, it was Payton Thorne and Noah Kim, not Katin Houser, that looked like QB1 and 1B out there. Houser’s skill is evident, but he’s still so young and still needs time to develop.

Kim, on the other hand, isn’t letting Thorne just walk into the season as the clear-cut No. 1 guy. Both made unbelievable throws, highlighted by Kim’s dime to Antonio Gates Jr. at the end of practice.

The old saying goes, “If you have two quarterbacks, you really have zero quarterbacks,” but for right now, this is exactly what this team needs. The quarterback play has to be better this year and from what I saw Saturday, iron is sharpening iron. Thorne isn’t good enough to win on talent alone, he needs to work, and work hard, to get better at his craft and with Kim nipping at his heels, this could be just the push he needs to get to that next level.

As for Kim, he also knows that he’s not the most talented quarterback in the Big Ten but he will have to work his butt off every single day if he wants to lead this team to bigger and better things.

Whoever gets the starting nod by the season’s start, Spartan fans can know QB1 was earned and not given.