Michigan State football adds more DB depth with UNC transfer

Michigan State football has added more depth to the defensive backfield with the transfer of North Carolina’s Lejond Cavazos.

After some interesting basketball news held us over in the morning, Michigan State football landed a transfer defensive back.

BREAKING: Michigan State lands a big commitment from the transfer portal, as former Notth Carolina cornerback Lejond Cavazos announces he is committed to Michigan State
🔗(FREE) https://t.co/exNmfFqYk9 pic.twitter.com/5KhytazSYc

— Corey Robinson (@C_Robinson247) May 13, 2024

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Jonathan Smith and the Spartans as they’ve landed multiple transfers since the end of spring ball. In fact, Lejond Cavazos is just the latest, but joins the likes of Jalen Satchell (Old Dominion), Marcellius Pulliam (Miami), Ru’Quan Buckley (Nebraska), Tyler Gillison (Cincinnati), Andrew Dennis (Illinois), Ed Woods (Arizona State), Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams (UMass), and Anthony Jones (Indiana) who have all transferred in this spring.

Michigan State’s 2024 transfer class is now 20 players deep and ranks No. 13 in the nation, per 247Sports.

Cavazos began his career at Ohio State, committing as a four-star defensive back from IMG Academy. He then transferred to North Carolina after playing in just five games with the Buckeyes, recording seven total tackles and two pass breakups. In 2022, he had 18 tackles, a tackle for loss, and two pass breakups in 11 games with the Tar Heels. And in 2023, he missed most of the season with an injury.

The talent is there, but he has never really gotten an opportunity to showcase it. He did in 2022 and he played well, but an injury in 2023 and being buried as an underclassman on some talented Ohio State rosters in 2020-21 left him with little production to show for that talent.

The 6-foot-0, 195-pound defensive back could play cornerback or safety for Michigan State and that’s great because the Spartans are thin at the latter. They need more help at safety after losing Jaden Mangham to the portal.

Demetrice Martin and Blue Adams are building a solid defensive back room with hungry players who just needed a shot and a change of scenery. We’ll see if one of the nation’s worst pass defenses improves drastically in 2024. My bet is yes.