Michigan State football needs to target another CB in transfer portal

Bad news struck the Michigan State football program on Thursday evening as a report from Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press revealed that Steffan Johnson, a cornerback commit from the 2021 class, was arrested and the reason will likely cost him a scholarship.

Mel Tucker hasn’t made a decision on that front yet — but I’m sure he will soon — but assuming the Spartans lose another cornerback, the head coach needs to turn his attention to the portal.

The Spartans have already landed Chester Kimbrough, Khary Crump, and Marqui Lowery Jr. in the transfer portal from Florida, Arizona, and Louisville, respectively, but that was a position group that was depleted from transfers this offseason as well as the departure of Shakur Brown to the NFL draft. But as we saw in the spring game, this team needs depth at corner.

It’s time for Tucker to dip back into the portal for one of his final remaining spots on the roster (assuming Johnson is gone, there should be two openings) at the cornerbacks spot.

Transfers to watch for Michigan State football

Obviously, everyone with a pulse would want Clemson’s Derion Kendrick in the portal but his off-field issues would likely scare the Spartans away here. Going from one cornerback with off-field problems to another wouldn’t be ideal for optics. Kendrick is the best defensive back on the market but he’s also probably not even considering MSU.

Penn State transfer Joseph Johnson could be a name to watch. He was part of the Nittany Lions’ 2020 class and he has great size at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds.

Former UCLA commit and Houston transfer Colin Samuel is another name to watch as the former four-star prospect was a top target of Colorado in the 2019 class when Tucker took over.

And then there’s former JUCO star and Alabama cornerback Ronald Williams who was the fourth-best play at the position at the junior college level in 2020. He would be the perfect mix of talent and experience for Tucker and the Spartans.

There are more names out there, but this should be the early list of top options.