Illinois transfer defensive lineman Anthony Johnson commits to Mississippi State

Illinois defensive lineman Anthony Johnson has committed to Mississippi State out of the NCAA transfer portal, he announced on his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.

Johnson spent only the spring with Illinois after transferring in from Youngstown State in the winter transfer portal period.

He opted to find a new fit after going through the spring.

“Anthony Johnson actually came in yesterday and he’s moving on so we’re out of the mix with him,” coach Bret Bielema during the spring.

“I could see it the last couple of weeks. There were guys playing, right, that I don’t know if he saw himself getting that starting role. I get it. The guy has got one year left. Asked him to kind of think about it but totally understand where he’s coming from. So he quit, moved on.”

Johnson is heading into his fifth collegiate season after a redshirt year at Bowling Green and the past three at Youngstown State.

In three years with the Penguins, Johnson posted 36 tackles and five sacks. That included this past fall as a senior where he had career numbers with 22 tackles and four sacks. Those sacks were good for a three-way tie while the tackles were tied for Top-10 on the team.

Johnson, a native of Pittsburgh, played high school football at Jeannette where he was a member of the 2020 class.

Mississippi State adds transfer wide receiver

Former New Mexico State wide receiver Trent Hudson has committed to Mississippi State, he announced on Sunday.

Hudson spent the first two seasons of his college career at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, transferring to New Mexico State ahead of the 2023 season where he’d have a breakout year. As he now takes his talents to Starkville for the final season of his college career with hopes of being a key weapon in the offense of first year head coach Jeff Lebby.

In his final JUCO season Hudson caught 50 passes for 778 yards and eight touchdowns in just 10 games to lead the team. Production that the 6-foot-3, 180-pound wideout was able to match at the FBS level with New Mexico State last season. Hauling in 35 receptions for 551 yards and a team-leading 10 touchdowns, which also tied for second in Conference USA last season.

Hudson now makes the jump to the SEC after being underrated high school prospect, playing at Shoemaker High School in Athens (TX) where he was an unrated, unranked recruit in the 2021 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater and Kaiden Smith also contributed to this report.