Breaking: North Carolina wide receiver, joins Michigan State

Lajand Cavazos, a gifted former North Carolina cornerback, joins Michigan State via the transfer portal.

With the arrival of former North Carolina cornerback Lejond Cavazos, Michigan State has successfully enhanced their cornerback depth for the upcoming season. This was the goal going into the spring transfer portal window.

Ed Woods, a former cornerback for Arizona State who the Sun Devils were hoping to lock into a starting position, committed to Michigan State a little more than a week ago, thanks to the efforts of cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin. Martin now adds Cavazos, who was anticipated to compete for a starter position for the Tar Heels this upcoming season despite missing all but one game of the previous season due to an injury. Cavazos was playing with the ones throughout the Tar Heels’ spring training.

“It was a perfect fit, and nobody else could give you the chance to be developed by Coach Meat.”

Smith left a lasting impression on Cavazos throughout his time on college, so he is also thrilled to perform for him.

“I’m really excited to start working and I can’t wait to play for Coach Smith.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior attended IMG Academy in Florida during his high school football career. He is originally from San Antonio, Texas. He spent the first two years of his college career at Ohio State. As a redshirt freshman in 2021, he played in 11 games and recorded 8 tackles and 2 PBU. He played in the 2020 Big Ten Championship game for the Buckeyes as a true freshman, making his collegiate debut.

In 2022, he moved to North Carolina for his sophomore season, where he started the final three games and made appearances in 11 games as a defensive back. He recorded two PBUs, a TFL, and eighteen tackles. He was supposed to start for North Carolina in 2023, but he had an injury that kept him out of action for the majority of the previous season, which was against Syracuse. It is expected that he will be eligible for two more years. Throughout his career, he has tallied four passes defensed, one TFL, and 25 tackles.

Cavazos was among the top test takers in the nation in the 2020 cycle while still a high school student. He ran the 40-yard sprint in 4.4 seconds at the Miami The Opening Regional in 2019. In addition, he added a 44-inch vertical, placing it in the 99th percentile of all verticals ever measured during that cycle.

In the spring transfer portal window, Michigan State has added linebacker Ed Woods from Arizona State, running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams from UMass, edge Anthony Jones from Indiana, and Andrew Dennis, a true freshman offensive tackle from Illinois. Other players added are former Cincinnati edge Tyler Gillison, former Nebraska defensive tackle Ru’Quan Buckley, Miami linebacker Marcellius Pulliam, and Old Dominion defensive tackle Jalen Satchell.