Michigan State football to start Noah Kim at QB vs. Central Michigan ...

EAST LANSING — Noah Kim will get the ball first.

Coach Mel Tucker confirmed on his pregame radio show that the redshirt junior will start at quarterback Friday night as Michigan State football faces Central Michigan. Kickoff is 7:05 p.m. at Spartan Stadium.

Kim and redshirt freshman Katin Houser battled throughout preseason camp to replace Payton Thorne, the starter the past two seasons who transferred to Auburn in May.

“Noah's done a good job,” Tucker said, calling the camp competition close between the two. “This is his fourth year, he knows the offense. … It was very, very close. Obviously, somebody’s gotta start, and Noah has earned that opportunity.”

Thorne took all but 67 snaps in starting the Spartans’ last 26 games. Last season, Kim got 38 snaps and went 14 of 19 for 174 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He played late in blowout losses to Minnesota and Ohio State and got his most extensive looks in nonconference wins over Western Michigan and Akron.

Houser played six snaps in the blowout win over Akron for his only experience, completing 1 of 2 throws for 2 yards.

It remains unclear if MSU will use more than one quarterback. Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson said last month during preseason camp it could be possible the Spartans might use two QBs. True freshman Sam Leavitt, like Houser a four-star recruit, also is dressed and is expected to be the No. 3 quarterback.

“We feel confident in all three of those guys,” Tucker said.

Fourth-year junior walk-on Andrew Schorfhaar also are in uniform for the season opener.

MSU’s first official injury report of the season has some key names on it.

Starting center Nick Samac and running back Jaren Mangham are denoted as questionable in the list, which the Big Ten now mandates be posted two hours before game time. Samac is in uniform and warming up.

MSU PREDICTIONS:How will Spartans open the season?

Samac said during camp in August that he was battling an upper-body injury he suffered in the summer. The senior started all 12 games last season and 22 times in his career at MSU. Junior Dallas Fincher worked throughout camp with the Spartans’ first-team offense when Samac was out of practice, and J.D. Duplain and Geno VanDeMark also delivered snaps during pregame warmups.

Mangham, a fifth-year senior, transferred from South Florida and also played at Colorado. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Detroit native ran for 671 yards and 15 touchdowns last season for the Bulls and is competing for carries this fall with returning starter Jalen Berger and Connecticut transfer Nathan Carter.

The Spartans have eight players listed as out: linebackers Darius Snow, Ma’a Gaoteote and Harold Joiner; cornerback Semar Melvin, a Wisconsin transfer; offensive linemen Stanton Ramil and Gavin Broscious; and defensive tackles and Alex VanSumeren and Jarrett Jackson, a Florida State transfer. Ramil, a four-star recruit in his first season at MSU, and Broscious, a redshirt freshman, both revealed they had knee surgery and are expected to miss the season.

Also, cornerback Terry Roberts, a summer transfer from Iowa who spent the spring at Miami (Florida), is no longer with the Spartans, a team spokesman confirmed before kickoff.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.