Michigan State Football: Transfer running back Harold Joiner III commits to Spartans

Just a day after Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker said that the Spartans would be active in the transfer portal, MSU picked up its second transfer player of the class in running back Harold Joiner III, joining former Temple quarterback Anthony Russo.

Joiner, who is a transfer from Auburn, is a former four-star recruit from Birmingham, Alabama. He logged just 12 attempts for 92 yards in 2019, along with one touchdown. But he was still a highly-ranked recruit out of high school, coming in as a top 200 recruit on 247Sports, and the fifth-ranked running back in the 2018 recruiting class. Michigan State was actually a top-six finalist for Joiner while he was a recruit.

Shortly after Mel Tucker mentioned the Spartans’ investment in the transfer portal, it’s clear that the Spartans are making it a priority to add some veteran players to their roster, with plenty of time left to make some more additions.

Joiner will join a running back room next year that (as of now) features Jordon Simmons, Elijah Collins, Connor Heyward, Brandon Wright and others. Oak Park’s Davion Primm of the 2021 class signed on with the Spartans yesterday, while Tucker and company wait on the decision of fellow 2021 running back commit Audric Estime. Estime announced he will sign his Nation Letter of Intent tomorrow (Friday) — it is expected to be for either Michigan State or Notre Dame.

Michigan State also added Hank Pepper, a long-snapper, to the class today.