Michigan State football strikes portal gold again with Harold Joiner

Mel Tucker has hit the NCAA transfer portal hard already and Michigan State football’s offseason is just getting started. Harold Joiner is a Spartan.

For the second time in as many days, Mel Tucker dipped into the NCAA transfer portal and came away with a big piece to the future puzzle.

Unlike Anthony Russo, however, Harold Joiner is a former top-150 recruit who still has more than one year of eligibility remaining. He was technically a redshirt sophomore this season but only appeared in two games for the Tigers before entering the portal. All players get to utilize an extra year of eligibility because of COVID-19 so that would make him a redshirt sophomore again in 2021.

Joiner is a familiar name for Spartan fans because he named the green and white in his top six back when he was a high school senior and blue-chip recruit. He was very high on the Spartans but ultimately chose to stay close to home with Auburn.

Unfortunately, Joiner didn’t see enough of the field in Gus Malzahn’s offense, rushing 15 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns in his three-year career. He averaged an impressive 6.9 yards per touch. That’s something that should make MSU fans happy.

Jordon Simmons is looking like a breakout star as a freshman for the Spartans, Elijah Collins is still a talented back who’s looking for a role under Tucker and Audric Estime is technically still committed and fans are hoping he signs with Michigan State on Friday — Notre Dame is making a strong push.

This commitment from Joiner, however, provides the perfect insurance for Michigan State in the case that Estime flips to Notre Dame.

Rest easy, Spartan fans. This 6-foot-4, 215-pound running back is incredibly talented.