Michigan State football named finalist for Auburn WR transfer

Michigan State football has been named a finalist for Auburn wide receiver transfer Ja’Varrius Johnson.

The transfer portal action in East Lansing these days has been insane. Michigan State football has lost 30-plus players to the portal this offseason but Jonathan Smith has landed over a dozen transfers.

And that number could soon grow.

On Wednesday, Michigan State made the trimmed list of Auburn wide receiver transfer Ja’Varrius Johnson. He revealed a top four which included the Spartans, Arizona, UCF, and Texas A&M.

BREAKING: Former Auburn WR Ja’Varrius Johnson is down to 4️⃣ Schools, he tells me

The 5-10, 170 lb WR from Trussville, AL had 64 Receptions for 1,114 Yards & 8 TD’s during his time with the Tigers

Will have 1 year of eligibility remaining pic.twitter.com/fiP4PbyeQZ

— JGPCFB (@jgpvisuals) April 24, 2024

This is a winnable top four for Smith and the Spartans. The one program I’m truly worried about is Texas A&M because Johnson is from SEC territory down in Alabama. He could opt to stay in the SEC with the Aggies and a program that is on the rise under Mike Elko. Another one to watch for is Arizona who has the best quarterback situation of the four listed.

Johnson planned to take a trip to Michigan State this week so we’ll see if Smith can close the deal.

The 5-10, 167-pound speedy wideout from Auburn played the 2023 season as Payton Thorne’s target, catching 19 passes for 347 yards and three scores. It’s clear that he can turn even a short completion into a long gain. Averaging 18.3 yards per reception is impressive — he averaged 19.0 in 2022 on 26 catches. Michigan State could use some speed like this its receiving corps. You know Courtney Hawkins is working hard here.

Adding a guy who had 64 receptions for 1,114 yards and eight touchdowns in three years in the SEC would be big for Michigan State. He could provide the extra firepower than Aidan Chiles and the offense need to be able to threaten any Big Ten defense. This offensive unit would be scary.

There’s no word on when a decision will be made, but I’d expect that in the next week or two judging by how quickly transfer recruitments work.