Advertisement
Premium content
PREMIUM CONTENT
Published Aug 17, 2021
The 3-2-1 from the third week of August Camp: QBs, Joiner, Tank and more
circle avatar
Jim Comparoni  •  Spartans Illustrated
Publisher
Twitter
@JimComparoni

East Lansing, Mich. - Three things we learned coming out of the first scrimmage of August camp, two questions, and one prediction:


THREE THINGS WE LEARNED


1. There's no movement in the QB competition (for now).


First of all, these things we “learned” are based on things coaches and players told us about what happened during Saturday’s scrimmage - along with frame-by-frame analysis of the partial highlights that were released by the football program.


Even if one of the quarterbacks surged ahead of the other in the Payton Thorne vs Anthony Russo battle, there’s a chance that none of the coaches would let us in on it.


For now, head coach Mel Tucker and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson are saying it’s too close to call. So we'll take them at their word. I have no reason not to believe them. I'm just qualifying the information at this point.

“It’s still open competition,” Tucker said of the QB race.

Johnson indicated that there are times when one pulls ahead of the other.

“It kind of vacillates a little bit each and every day,” Johnson said. “We have really only had the one live scrimmage so there’s a bunch more work to get in this week and then another good scrimmage coming up on Saturday. Once we get that, then maybe things will start to unfold.”

According to the scrimmage video, there was at least one interception in the scrimmage, picked off by nickel back Michael Dowell. The video didn’t reveal which QB threw the interception. It could have been any of the four scholarship QBs. They all took reps on Saturday.

Johnson said the battle for third-string between redshirt freshman Noah Kim and true freshman Hampton Fay is a constructive one, too.

“Noah Kim has really improved,” Johnson said. “Hamp has improved one thousand percent since spring ball. So I feel good about the young guys. They still need to grow and develop but really excited about that.”

I wouldn’t expect a lot of negativism from the coaches about the QB subject. But sometimes you can detect a little impatience or aggravation from coaches when things go too long without discernible progress. That doesn’t seem to be the case with this year’s derby.

“I’m liking what I’m seeing so far,” Tucker said.

The coaches will learn more after this Saturday’s scrimmage. But we in the public likely won’t get a straight answer on who will be the starting quarterback until moments before kickoff at Northwestern on Sept. 3.


2. Harold Joiner seems to have barged into the running back race.

Joiner was one of the first off-season transfers to join Tucker’s team this year. However, the athletic transfer from Auburn didn’t arrive until the summer. By that time, Wake Forest running back transfer Kenneth Walker III had already gone through winter conditioning and spring football at Michigan State, and impressed everyone with his skills and explosiveness.

Walker was an immediate favorite of the Michigan State strength staff.

Then Joiner arrived, and he became a favorite, too.

However, we didn’t start hearing buzz about Joiner at Michigan State until this week, on the heels of an impressive performance from Joiner in the scrimmage.

“I really like what Harold Joiner did in the scrimmage,” Tucker said. “He was able to get his pads down and run with some authority. He has excellent ball skills out of the backfield.”

Joiner was the first player Tucker mentioned when relaying partial details from the scrimmage.

Joiner was a four-star recruit in 2018 when he signed with Auburn out of Mountain Brook, Ala.

Along with defensive end Itayvion Brown, cornerback Ronald Williams, linebacker Quavaris Crouch and tight end Maliq Carr, Joiner is one of five transfers who were Rivals.com four star recruits when they signed with their previous schools.

Four of them have flashed four-star talent thus far in camp. Carr will get his chance in the coming days. The former Purdue wide receiver was slowed by a lower body injury this summer. He shed a protective boot earlier this month and began making a slow transition to the practice field last week. Coaches are optimistic that he will be able to go full blast this week.

Joiner came to Michigan State expecting to become a feature back. He saw action in two games for Auburn as part of the Tigers’ talented and crowded running back room in 2020.

In 2019 as a redshirt freshman, he carried the ball 12 times for 94 yards on the year, and also had six catches for 128 yards.

Opportunities seemed to abound at Michigan State, after the Spartans’ meager output on the ground last year. But junior Elijah Collins is rejuvenated after being slowed by COVID-19 last year. Walker was the top tailback at Wake Forest last season and is competing hard for the top job at Michigan State.

Sophomore Jordon Simmons eventually led Michigan State in rushing last year and is back defending his spot in the pecking order.

Even redshirt freshman Donavon Eaglin and true freshman Davion Primm have gained compliments.

This past weekend, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Joiner joined the party.

“Harold is long, he can run,” Johnson said.

That tall frame is a bit odd for a running back. Rivals.com categorized Joiner in the "athlete" position when he was coming out of high school. Joiner’s contributions as a receiver two years ago have led to questions as to whether his unique skillset could lead to a more versatile role in the offense than just being a tailback.

“He has shown good ball skills to this point so I think you could move him to a lot of different areas,” Johnson said. “We have tried to do that a little bit with him. I see him as being very multiple in use.”

The size, speed and pass catching ability is nice. But the things that Tucker said about Joiner getting low and running with authority is a big step in securing a role in the playing group.

“It’s a very, very competitive room right now,” Johnson said. “That’s exciting.”


3. Tayvion “Tank” Brown is a pass rushing candidate.

Michigan State ranked No. 10 in the Big Ten in sacks last year. The pass rush wasn’t terrible. Drew Beesley has 4.5 career sacks and fifth-year senior Jacub Panasiuk has nine career sacks.

Panasiuk was slowed by COVID-19 last year and seems to have had a quiet August camp thus far in 2021.

Duke transfer Drew Jordan had 3.5 sacks in 11 games last year and has 10 career sacks.

Sophomore Michael Fletcher had 3.0 sacks last year and is starting to fill out his 6-foot-6 frame.

The Spartans need Jordan, Panasiuk, Fletcher and Beesley, or someone, to break through and provide some consistent pass rushing help at d-end if the Spartans want to improve on last year’s mark.

All of them are quality candidates to do it and there is hope that one of them might emerge as an every-down, every-game problem for opponents.

Now, add Tank Brown to the list of candidates in the pass rush category.

Subscribe to read more.
Unlock Premium news from the largest network of experts.
Say your piece in exclusive fan communities.
Dominate with stats, athlete data, Rivals250 rankings, and more.
Go Big. Get Premium.Log In
MichiganState
FOOTBALL
Scores / Schedule
footballfootball
6 - 2
Overall Record
0 - 0
Conference Record
Finished
N. Carolina
91
N. Carolina
Michigan St.
94
Arrow
Michigan St.
Michigan St.
63
Michigan St.
Memphis
71
Arrow
Memphis
Michigan St.
72
Arrow
Michigan St.
Colorado
56
Colorado
Advertisement