Noah Kim struggled badly for Michigan State football. Then he turned it around
EAST LANSING — Well, that was a wild turnaround.
One second, I was thinking: I wonder if they are gonna pull Noah Kim? Will Michigan State football try somebody else at quarterback? Maybe, in the second half?
And then, he settled down, got rid of the nerves and started chucking bombs down the field, turning a tight game into a rout, leading MSU to a 31-7 victory over Central Michigan on Friday night.
Just wild.
So, give Kim all kinds of credit. He bounced back from a horrible start that actually began in warmups.
More than a half hour before this game, as the MSU student section was filling up with white shirts — an impressive whiteout — Kim grabbed a football and started to warm up in Spartan Stadium.
While throwing deep sideline passes, Kim missed two straight, missing high — a telltale sign that a quarterback is too excited. Too hyped up. Or maybe, too nervous.
Just a few minutes earlier, MSU coach Mel Tucker had announced on a pregame radio show that Kim would be the starter. “Noah has done a good job,” Tucker said on the radio show. “This is his fourth year in the offense. He knows the offense.”
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It made sense. Kim, a fourth-year junior, showed consistency in 2022, throwing 14-for-19 for 174 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in his 38 snaps.
Of course, knowing it, and executing it, are two different things.
The MSU quarterbacks moved to another part of the field and Kim threw high again. When they went to a seven-on-seven drill, Kim threw an interception. Without facing a rush. In warmups. Against his own defense.
And it looked concerning for MSU.
Normally, this is just going through the motion type moments.
Just break a sweat, warm up, get the feel.
But Kim was struggling something awful.
Maybe, some of this was to be expected. Kim was starting his first game for MSU, replacing Payton Thorne.
He was clearly nervous. Or too excited, and it flowed right into the game.
He completed just four of his first 12 passes.
Some of his throws were high. Some were late. And some were to nobody in particular — I have to chalk up those to miscommunications.
To be fair, the receivers weren’t helping him. There were at least three catchable balls that were dropped in the first half.
This was a sloppy, ugly start for MSU, as CMU took a 7-3 lead with less than 2 minutes in the second quarter.
But wait. Here comes the part where you see someone face adversity and come back from it. The part where an athlete shows what they are really made of.
Just when I started to wonder if we'd see a different MSU QB, Kim came alive in the two-minute offense.
And it all started with his connection with Jaron Glover.
Kim hit Glover for 33 yards, then for 32 and then for 10 — all on one drive — as the Spartans drove down for a touchdown.
It was like Kim stopped thinking and just started playing.
Suddenly, MSU had a 10-7 lead.
In the third quarter, Kim settled down even more, completing four of his first five passes, as MSU took a 17-7 lead.
It was like some giant weight had lifted off him, and then he turned it into a show. He turned this into his coming out party.
He threw a fantastic pass to Christian Fitzpatrick, who sprinted downfield for a 72-yard gain.
Then, there was an amazing 10-yard TD pass to Tyrell Henry and an 8-yard TD to Maliq Carr.
Just beautiful catches.
So give Kim credit.
He didn’t fold.
He bounced back from a horrible start, shook off the nerves and settled down. Making plays all over the field, throwing for 279 yards and a pair of TDs.
Pretty wild.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to www.freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football QB Noah Kim's impressive turnaround vs CMU
