State RB Johnnie Daniels plans to enter transfer portal
Mississippi State running back Johnnie Daniels has made his long-expected announcement that he is moving on from Mississippi State.
A move that has been on the way since the middle of the football season, Daniels announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal when it opens on January 2. He pinned a statement to the Bulldog faithful on X to announce his departure.
“Dear Mississippi State football family, thank you to the coaches, my teammates, the school, the fans and my friends and family for all the support during my time at Mississippi State. Wearing the maroon and white has meant a lot to me, and I am thankful for every moment and lesson along the way,” Daniels said. “After a lot of thought, I have decided to enter the transfer portal. I have one year of eligibility left, and I believe this is the best decision for my future. I will always respect this program and appreciate everyone who has supported me. Hail State!”
Daniels began his career at Copiah Lincoln Community College after playing for Crystal Springs. Following a high school career where he rushed for over 4,000 yards and had 56 rushing touchdowns, Daniels became one of the top junior college running backs in all of the country.
The Mississippi native made an impact right away with the Wolves in 2022 as he rushed for 485 yards and had two touchdowns. That set the stage for him to become one of the best in the country his sophomore year in 2023 as Daniels rushed 183 times for 1,253 yards and 15 touchdowns. He would lead the MACCC in rushing yards, carries, touchdowns, yards per game and yards per rush and he earned first-team All-MACCC honors.
Just days after Jeff Lebby was hired, Daniels was committed to the Bulldogs. He was a consensus NO. 1 running backs in JUCO by the major networks and was rated as the No. 26 player overall in JUCO by on3 with a three-star rating.
As a junior, Daniels averaged 5.0 yards per carry as he became State’s No. 2 back behind Davon Booth. He rushed 108 times for 540 yards and four touchdowns and had eight catches for 76 yards. After that season, he was set to have an even bigger 2025.
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The return of Booth due to the JUCO ruling that allowed a free extra season of eligibility for those out of eligibility along with the addition of Fluff Bothwell would make things more difficult for Daniels this year. He played in the first three games and had nine carries for 44 yards before getting passed up by sophomore Xavier Gayten.
Over the final nine games, Daniels sat out and redshirted allowing himself another year of eligibility to finish things out.
Daniels is one of 23 players that have declared their intentions to enter the portal when it opens in January. Among those, only SAF Tony Mitchell, OL Jimothy Lewis and WR Jordan Mosley have been regular contributors this season.
The Bulldogs will finish out the season on that same January 2 date as they take on Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
