ESPN ranks Michigan State's quarterback room among nation's best
Payton Thorne emerged to have one of the best seasons by a Michigan State quarterback in school history in 2021. The redshirt sophomore set the program’s single-season passing touchdown record with 27, and ranked third in team history in passing yards in a single season (3,240).
With the success Thorne had as a first-time starter, offensive coordinator Jay Johnson is excited to see how good the Spartans’ signal-caller can be in his second season under center for MSU.
“One of the emphasis for me is to get Payton Thorne to play at an even higher level,” Johnson said. “He was really, really good last year. He was very solid, but I still think, as he and I have reviewed things and he and I have talked, the growth for him is really there still.”
With the departure of star tailback Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State may need to rely more on its quarterback and passing game this coming season. For that to happen, Thorne will need to continue to hone his skills and become even more efficient.
“Obviously, we took a big step from the previous year. We went back and watched things, I think we have to do everything a little bit better,” Johnson said. “For us to take that next step, I need to see that growth from him.”
Michigan State was fortunate to have a healthy Thorne for every game in 2021, but the Spartans’ coaching staff knows that, at any time, MSU is only one play away from having to turn to a backup quarterback.
“We were blessed last year. Generally, you don’t get through the season with just one quarterback,” Johnson said. “I’m praying for that to happen again this year, but those other guys, I want them to press Payton, and I need to get them ready so that we have that depth and we have that ability to continue on.”
Luckily, the Spartans have viable options behind their starter, enough so that Michigan State ranked within ESPN’s Top 15 for future quarterback rankings, at No. 15 overall.
Head coach Mel Tucker expects the competition for the No. 2 spot behind Thorne to go into fall camp, as redshirt sophomore Noah Kim, redshirt freshman Hamp Fay and true freshman Katin Houser battle for their position on the depth chart.
“They’re getting better, all of them,” Tucker said. “They’re all very talented guys, it’s just going to be a matter of who’s going to step up the most and be the most consistent at the positon. But, I like the guys that we have there.”
Johnson has been pleased with the progress in his quarterbacks room as well.
“I’ve been pleased with Noah Kim, I think he’s done some very positive things. Hamp Fay continues to evolve. Hamp Fay is like 300 percent better than he was when he got here a year ago. And, now, Katin has just joined us at mid-year, and is doing some things,” Johnson said.
“We keep a pretty detailed rep count each day, and I’m kind of trying to get those other three in some situations to see how they respond, because I need them to come along.”
Of the three potential backups, Houser comes in with the most hype as a four-star recruit in the class of 2022. He was ranked No. 226 nationally as a high school senior, and was the Spartans’ second-highest ranked recruit in 2022.
“I think Katin’s been very solid,” Johnson said. “He has really good football IQ, really good student of the game. It’s a lot for anybody coming in when they enter in mid-year, but I’ve been pleased. He has a really good skillset, from his ability to throw the football and those things, and pretty good mobility. So, I think his future’s really bright. We have to grow every day and he’s working at it, and so I expect things from him.”
The thing that Houser lacks is experience at the college level, and that’s where these other two guys come in.
Kim, a three-star recruit in 2020, doesn’t have the recruiting pedigree of Houser – Kim was ranked No. 1251 in his class – but he’s got two years under his belt in Michigan State’s offensive system.
“Noah Kim has very good arm talent. He can sling it,” Tucker said. “He’s got a strong arm, and he’s got more experience – not game experience, but he’s been in the system, he’s been coached, he’s taken a lot of reps. I see him growing.”
Likewise, Hamp Fay has a year of experience under his belt as well. He was the first quarterback commit of Tucker’s tenure in East Lansing – a three-star ranked No. 1119 in the class of 2021.
“Hamp Fay, the same thing, he’s been in the system,” Tucker said. “Hasn’t been in the games, but he’s gotten a lot of reps in practice and he’s getting a lot of detailed coaching.”
Regardless of the lack of game experience for these guys, Tucker said he’ll be confident in trotting any of them out there on the field, because they’re being coached for the moment every day in practice.
“If they can do it in practice, they’ll be able to do it in a game, because it’s very competitive,” Tucker said. “When you don’t have guys that have played in games, there’s always going to be some questions about what you have back there, but I like what I’m seeing in practice from those guys. It’s really heavy competition.”
Michigan State is one of four Big Ten East teams that ESPN ranked in the future quarterback power rankings. Ohio State led the way with the No. 1 spot with returning starter C.J. Stroud along with top recruits Kyle McCord (No. 31, class of 2020) and Devin Brown (No. 80, 2022).
Michigan came in at No. 10 in ESPN’s rankings, with returning starter Cade McNamara battling JJ McCarthy for the right to lead the Wolverines in 2022. Texas Tech transfer Alex Bowman returns for his second season in Ann Arbor, and freshman walk-on Davis Warren flashed potential in the Wolverines spring game.
Lastly, Penn State fell one spot behind Michigan at No. 11 in the rankings. The Nittany Lions return starter Sean Clifford, and also brought in the No. 50 overall in the class of 2022 in Drew Allar. Penn State also has Christian Veilleux, who led them to victory over Rutgers with Clifford out due to injury. The Nittany Lions also signed four-star Beau Pribula in 2022.
It’s no secret that the top of the Big Ten East is loaded, but with the guys Michigan State has in its quarterback room, with Johnson as the position coach, the Spartans are set up to go toe-to-toe at that position with any of their division rivals.
“Coach Johnson is a master quarterbacks coach,” Tucker said. “He’s coached the position for a long time, he played the position. I mean, he is one of the best that I’ve been around, if not the best. The guy can coach. I’m not just talking about the play-calling, we know he can do that, but I’m talking about coaching the details of the position.”
Johnson’s ability to teach was evident last season with Thorne, and it will be interesting to see the strides Michigan State’s starter makes in 2022. Behind him, the Spartans have several options back Thorne up in 2022 and carry the mantle in future seasons.
“They’re going to continue to get better, because they really work,” Tucker said. “They’re serious guys, they have very good attention to detail and they’re very competitive.”
