Spartan Nation

BREAKING: QB Katin Houser making first career start for Michigan State vs. Rutgers

The Spartans make a change at quarterback...

Matthew Lounsberry

In this story:

CORRECTION: Michigan State quarterback Noah Kim DID make the trip to Rutgers and is in uniform, counter to a previous report from Spartan Nation. Senior writer Matthew Lounsberry misread Detroit Free Press’ Chris Solari’s tweet regarding Kim’s travel status. I apologize for my mistake.

It's official.

Michigan State has made a change at the quarterback position ahead of its Week 7 road tilt at Rutgers. According to multiple reports, redshirt freshman Katin Houser will make his first career start today against the Scarlet Knights, supplanting incumbent starter Noah Kim.

Kim traveled with the team and is in uniform, but did not go through first- or second-team reps with the offense during pregame warmups. Based on observations of warmups, it is believed that true freshman Sam Leavitt will back up Houser today.

Spartan Tailgate's Justin Thind is reporting that the decision to go with Houser over Kim came on Oct. 3, three days after the Spartans fell to Iowa, 26-16, in Kinnick Stadium. The quick move by interim head coach Harlon Barnett and the coaching staff allowed Houser nearly a full two weeks of reps with MSU's first team offense in preparation for today's game.

In the backup role, redshirt freshman Katin Houser has completed 9-of-16 attempts (56.3%) for 158 yards and an interception. At his weekly press conference on Monday, Barnett said he and MSU's staff were "still evaluating" the quarterbacks, but said the team knew internally who would be the starter against Rutgers.

"It's a good competition going on," Barnett said. "It's going to be good. Guys know where they stand, what's going to happen. We'll just leave it at that for now...We don't want anyone to know. We know what we're going to do, and we feel good about it. And so, you'll see on Saturday."

In five games as Michigan State's starting quarterback, redshirt junior Noah Kim threw for 1,090 passing yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 91-of-160 pass attempts (56.9%). He added 53 rushing yards on 27 attempts.

Kim struggled mightily over the past three game against Power Five competition, completed just 55-of-107 pass attempts (51.4%) with one passing touchdown and six interceptions against Washington, Maryland and Iowa. Michigan State has been outscored by a total of 66 points in those games.

The Spartans have not scored an offensive touchdown in their last 19 possessions, 17 of which featured Kim at quarterback. Michigan State is banking on Houser to help jumpstart the sluggish offense, though Barnett acknowledged this week that it'll take all 11 guys to get things turned around on that side of the ball. 

"It doesn't just boil down to the quarterback...it's all positions," Barnett said. "We show [film] where everybody could have done something better and made plays and did things. So, it's not just the quarterback. They understand that, and the quarterback is no different — the best players play. That's how we're going to do it."

For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:

Published
Matthew Lounsberry
MATTHEW LOUNSBERRY

Home/Football