Jayden Reed returning to MSU for senior year

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MSU head coach Mel Tucker hoists the Peach Bowl trophy after knocking off No. 12 Pittsburgh 31-21 on Dec. 30, 2021/ Photo Credit: Sarah Smith/WDBM

Carter Landis, General Assignment Reporter
January 4, 2022

Michigan State redshirt junior wide receiver Jayden Reed is returning as a Spartan for his redshirt senior season and forgoing the 2022 NFL Draft, he announced on his Twitter Tuesday afternoon. Reed played a pivotal role in the Spartans’ explosive passing attack this season, catching 59 passes for 1,026 yards and 10 touchdowns during the 2021 season. He also added 34 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Reed, who played with quarterback Payton Thorne at Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois, originally committed to Western Michigan in April of 2017 as part of the 2018 recruiting class. He was ranked as the No. 1783 overall player in his class, according to 247sports.com. In one season with the Broncos, Reed totaled 56 receptions for 797 yards and eight touchdowns. He also returned a kick for a touchdown. 

MSU wide receiver Jayden Reed makes a go-ahead touchdown catch in the latter stages of the Spartans’ 31-21 win over No. 12 Pittsburgh in the 2021 Peach Bowl/ Photo Credit: Sarah Smith/WDBM

Reed then decided to transfer to Michigan State in 2019, to where Thorne had flipped his commitment after also being committed to the Broncos. He sat out the 2019 season due to NCAA transfer rules. In his debut as a Spartan in 2020 against Rutgers, Reed caught 11 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the season with 33 receptions, 407 yards and three touchdowns. 

Enjoying a career season in 2021, Reed totaled three games with over 100 receiving yards, as well as 614 total yards on kick and punt returns, along with two punt return touchdowns. He was named First-Team All-Big Ten by the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association as an All-Purpose player and Third-Team All-Big Ten as a wide receiver.

Reed’s decision to return strengthens an already deep wide receiver core for the Spartans that averaged 253.7 receiving yards per game in 2021. Tre Mosley, Keon Coleman, Montorie Foster Jr. and Terry Lockett Jr. look to be some of the bigger contributors in the wide receiver room in East Lansing next season.