EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – The last time Michigan State’s football team found itself in the midst of a quarterback competition going into the brand new year was in 2021 when Payton Thorne beat out Anthony Russo for the job. Since then, Thorne has transferred to Auburn, leaving the spot wide open for the season opener against Central Michigan on September 1st. Out of the three guys who are in the running, it is Noah Kim who has the most experience. The fourth-year junior was the backup all last season to Thorn playing in four games while also tossing three touchdowns. So what kept Kim here all these years?

“I love being here and I love the team,” Kim said. “I wanna play with these guys and that was my goal at the end of the day was just play for these guys because I’m a servant to them basically is how I look at it. It comes from the confidence that I have in myself. I didn’t want to jump ship when times got tough because I’ve been through adversity before and it’s just another form of adversity and something that I feel I can get through.”
So where did Kim gain all of that self-confidence?

“My parents and my family,” Kim said. “The things that they taught me growing up is just not to shy away from competition. Through all the sports I played I’ve been through injuries and all that stuff and I feel like nothing has ever put me down to a point where I can’t come back from. I proved it to myself that I can come back from anything and this is just another thing I can come back from.”

When fall camp began, Kim debuted his new number for the season, trading his number 14 jersey in for Thorne’s old number 10 jersey. But his reason for change is one that dates back to his Westfield High School days.

“I’ve been through that adversity piece of my life in that number,” Kim said. “I’ve been through the worst adversity and I’ve also experienced some really great times in that number ten. That’s just something that I want to continue to grow with that number on and it just feels natural.”

You can view the full conversation in the video player above.