Michigan State redshirt freshman wide receiver Aziah Johnson will enter the transfer portal, Rivals confirmed with his representation, A&P Sports Agency.
This is a big hit, as Johnson will have three years of eligibility remaining and is coming off a solid campaign where he recorded 276 receiving yards, good for fourth on the team. He caught 16 passes and scored twice.
This is now the second wide receiver MSU has lost to the portal in as many days, after Jaron Glover announced his intentions to go elsewhere on Thursday.
Johnson originally came to East Lansing after being recruited by former head coach Mel Tucker. The former three-star recruit out of Richmond, Virginia chose the Spartans back in December 2022. During his recruiting process, Johnson officially visited Virginia Tech and South Carolina while also unofficially visiting North Carolina. He also held power conference offers from Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia.
After only playing two offensive snaps while he redshirted during MSU’s 4-8 season in 2023, Johnson still stuck around after Michigan State hired Jonathan Smith and saw his role greatly increase while playing in all 12 games this fall.
This year, Johnson played a total of 285 offensive snaps and received an overall grade of 65.5 from Pro Football Focus. His best grade from one game was a 79.7 against Prairie View A&M after he recorded 50 receiving yards and a touchdown. His snaps peaked with 45 in the game against Illinois when he had a career-high 70 yards and a touchdown.
It’s more offensive production that Smith needs to replace. MSU’s two leading rushers and three of its five top receivers will not return to the program in 2025. It will take a lot of solid additions to turn it around, given that Michigan State’s 19.3 points per game this past season was 15th in the Big Ten and tied for 123rd in the FBS.