Spring Preview Position Breakdown: Offense

With spring practice beginning this week for the Michigan State football team, msuspartans.com takes a look at the position breakdown on offense for the Spartans.

►QUARTERBACKS CAPSULE

Players returning (5):

• #38 Christian Banks (R-Fr., 6-1, 210, Orlando, Fla./Olympia)

*redshirted as a running back during the 2022 season

• #12 Katin Houser (R-Fr., 6-3, 195, Anaheim, Calif./St. John Bosco)

(1 game, 1-of-2 passing (.500), 2 yards)

• #14 Noah Kim (1L, R-Jr., 6-2, 185, Centreville, Va./Wesfield)

(4 games, 14-of-19 passing (.737), 174 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs)

• #18 Andrew Schorfhaar (R-Jr., 6-2, 195, DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt)

• #10 Payton Thorne (3L, R-Sr., 6-2, 210, Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central)

(12 games/12 starts, 242-of-387 passing (.625), 2,679 yards, 19 TDs, 11 INTs, 42 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD)

Incoming freshman for fall (1):

• Sam Leavitt (Fr., 6-2, 200, West Linn, Ore., West Linn)

Letterwinners lost: 0

Outlook: Fifth-year senior quarterback Payton Thorne, who has started 26 consecutive games for the Spartans, ranks among Michigan State’s career leaders in passing touchowns (fourth with 49), completion percentage (fifth at .609), passing yards (sixth with 6,494), pass completions (sixth with 524), pass attempts (sixth with 860) and passing efficiency (eighth with 137.6 rating). The three-year letterwinner has 49 career TD passes on 524-of-860 (.609) passing for 6,494 yards in 29 career games (223.9 ypg), including 26 career starts (16-10 record). Thorne set an MSU single-season record with 27 touchdown passes during MSU’s 11-2 season in 2021.

 

Last season, Thorne started all 12 games and was named a team captain for the second consecutive season. He ranked fourth in the Big Ten in pass completions (242) and pass attempts (387), fifth in touchdown passes (19) and sixth in passing yards (2,679; 223.3 ypg).

In four games of action off the bench, Noah Kim was very efficient, completing 74 percent of his passes (14-of-19) for 174 yards and three touchdowns. During two Big Ten games, he was 6-of-7 passing for 70 yards including a 27-yard…