Michigan State has added help in the secondary. The Spartans have picked up a commitment from North Carolina transfer cornerback Lejond Cavazos.
Cavazos announced the news via social media on Monday.
He took an official visit to Michigan State on Sunday.
Cavazos recently graduated from UNC and has two years of college eligibility remaining.
Cavazos did not have an ideal 2023 campaign. He suffered a lower-body injury before the season that required surgery. He played in one game and recorded seven defensive snaps, but didn’t record any stats for the Tar Heels.
The injury was a tough blow for Cavazos and North Carolina because he emerged late in the 2022 season. Cavazos appeared in 11 games in 2022 and he started the final three contests of the season. The San Antonio native tallied 18 tackles, one tackle for loss and two passes defended in the 2022 campaign.
Before spending two seasons in Chapel Hill with the Tar Heels, Cavazos was at Ohio State for the first two seasons of his college career. He played in 11 games in 2021 as a redshirt freshman and totaled eight tackles and two passes defended. As a true freshman, he made his college debut for the Buckeyes in the 2020 Big Ten Championship Game.
Cavazos was a former three-star recruit, according to Rivals. He committed to Ohio State in April 2019, but also went on a visit to Oregon. Cavazos received offers from many other schools as well, including Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC and many other power conference programs.
He joins a cornerbacks room coached by former Spartan defensive back Demetrice Martin. Cavazos is the second transfer portal addition at cornerback since the spring transfer portal window opened, joining Arizona State transfer Ed Woods. Other cornerbacks on the roster include Charles Brantley, Chance Rucker, Ade Willie, true freshman Justin Denson Jr. and many others.
Sources tell Spartans Illustrated that while the plan is for Cavazos to play cornerback, he also has the ability to cross-train at other positions such as safety or nickel back as well.
At Michigan State, Cavazos will also play under head coach Jonathan Smith, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi, secondary coach Blue Adams and the rest of the staff.
Cavazos is the ninth transfer that the Spartans have added since the spring transfer portal window opened on April 16. He is the 21st transfer overall to join Michigan State since Smith was named head coach in November of 2023.
To keep up with all of Michigan State's transfer portal activity, click here.
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