A disturbing bit of news surfaced on Thursday night involving a member of the Michigan State Spartans’ 2021 recruiting class. Steffan Johnson, an 18-year old from Venice, Florida was arrested and charged with extortion for directing or promoting sexual performance by a child, according to a police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
On Friday, the other shoe dropped, as Michigan State officially announced that Johnson will “no longer be a member of the Spartan Program” according to the reporting of Matt Wenzel of MLive. It seems that the Spartans have officially cut ties with Johnson.
Statement from MSU athletics:
— Matt Wenzel (@mwenzel2) April 30, 2021
“Michigan State football informed Steffan Johnson today that he will not be a member of the Spartan program.”
Johnson was listed a two-star recruit by Rivals.com and as a three-star recruit by 247Sports. Johnson was committed to play football at Rutgers during the summer of 2020, but he switched his commitment to Michigan State in November. He signed his national letter of intent in December.
He was projected as a cornerback at the college level, which is a position of need for Michigan State. However, the 2021 Class includes two other cornerback, including Johnson’s high school teammate, three-star recruit Charles Brantley. In addition, the Spartans are adding an additional three cornerbacks this summer from the transfer portal.