Since Jonathan Smith became head coach of Michigan State football he has made one thing abundantly clear, he will use the transfer portal and use it a lot.
In the fall/winter transfer portal season, he brought a whopping 10 transfers to East Lansing.
Now with the spring transfer portal window upon us, he is once again showing how much of a priority it is to him. He has made a few moves in the portal already, but none are bigger than the latest receiver who has just scheduled a visit to Michigan State.
Ja’Varrius Johnson is a transfer wide receiver from Auburn. He has spent all three of his collegiate seasons at Auburn, where he has found some decent success as a pass catcher.
One thing that stands out to me right away is that Johnson was productive at Auburn even in his true freshman season. Three seasons ago as a freshman, he finished with 19 catches for 274 yards and two touchdowns. Not too shabby in the SEC if you ask me.
Fast forward to this past season and Johnson had another solid year. He finished this season with 19 catches again for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Auburn ran a very run heavy offense this season under former Spartan Payton Thorne, so all things considered this was a very good year for him.
One team definitely stands out as potentially being at the top of Johnson’s list, and that is UCF. Up to this point they were the only school to receive a visit from Johnson. He however now is opening up his recruitment a little more and has upcoming visits to Michigan State and Arizona.
No official date for his visit has been announced yet, but this is a very good sign for the Spartans just to get a visit from him in general. Johnson can be a quality veteran presence in the locker room while also being a major contributor under a quarterback with the talent of Aidan Chiles.
Regardless of Johnson’s decision, I am just relieved and excited to see Smith utilizing the portal so much. Let’s just hope he can keep this momentum going.
