Michigan State Football Player Cut After Arrest for Allegedly Extorting Video of Minor

One football player who signed to play with the Michigan State Spartans will not join the team. On Friday, it was announced that Michigan State cut Steffan Johnson, who signed with the team as part of the 2021 recruiting class. According to Michigan Live, Johnson is facing two felony charges for extortion, directing or promoting a sexual performance by a child.

“Michigan State football informed Steffan Johnson today that he will not be a member of the Spartan program,” a team spokesman said in an email on Friday. The report from the North Port Police Department in Florida stated a threat of extorting a sexual video of a juvenile was made last Wednesday night. Johnson, 18, allegedly asked the girl to leave her home and meet him at the end of the street.

Police said that Johnson asked the girl to kiss him, but she declined. When the girl got home, she received a text message with a video of her performing sexual acts on Johnson. Johnson threatened to “injure the reputation” of the girl and intended to compel her to perform sexual acts on him. The report states the girl was 15 and Johnson was 17 at the time of the video recording.

Johnson signed with Michigan State in December. “Steffan is fast, electric and very long, he’s instinctive and generates production on both sides of the ball,” Michigan State Mel Tucker said on National Signing Day in December per 247Sports. “He’s played nearly every position except for offensive line and defensive line for them; at one point or another, he’s played quarterback, wide receiver, running back, corner and safety. He is very dynamic with the ball in his hands and shows effortless acceleration when running away from defenders.”

Johnson is listed as the three-star recruit and placed high school football at Venice High School in Venice, Florida. He played multiple positions at Venice but was expected to play cornerback with the Spartans. “First I would like to thank my family, my teammates, my coaches, and all of those who have supported me throughout my recruiting journey,” Johnson wrote on Twitter in November. “I would also like to thank all of the coaches that have recruited me and blessed me with the opportunity to play college football. After taking some time to re-evaluate my commitment and enjoy the recruiting process, I would like to announce that I will be committing to Michigan State University Go Green.”