MONTANA STATE SPORTS INFORMATION & SKYLINE SPORTS
Montana State bolstered its pass game on both sides of the line of scrimmage Thursday by adding cornerback JoJo Henderson from Snow College and receiver Jabarri Johnson American River College, MSU head coach Jeff Choate announced.
Henderson, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore who will have three years of eligibility remaining, registered 54 tackles and 10 pass breakups in eight games as a freshman at Snow last fall. He spent the 2015 season as a redshirt at Lamar before transferring to Snow.
The Salt Lake City product was a two-time all-region choice and two-time team MVP at Olympus High, where he helped lead his 10-2 squad to a regional co-championship and state semifinal appearance as a junior in 2013. He was also a standout running back at Olympus, and played for the North squad in the Blue-Grey All-America Bowl in Tampa in 2015.
“JoJo is an extremely driven, highly competitive, very intelligent young man,” Choate said. “He’s an outstanding student with high character who was a very, very productive player for an excellent junior college program at Snow. I’m excited to add him to our program.”
Henderson was recruited by Montana State out of high school. At the time of his signing, he held offers from MSU’s Big Sky Conference rivals, North Dakota and Northern Arizona.
Johnson (6-4, 210, Jr.) caught 19 passes in nine games at American River College in the Sacramento area last fall, good for 298 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned two kicks for 21 yards. Originally from Elk Grove, California, he played in two games at Sacramento State in 2014 before being granted a medical hardship, then caught one pass for the Hornets in 2015. Johnson earned First Team All-Delta Valley honors as a senior at Elk Grove’s Franklin High School in 2013, catching 38 passes for 692 yards and 10 touchdowns. He hails from the same high school as Benson Osayande, a senior to be on MSU’s men’s basketball team.
“Jabarri has experience at the college level and he has good size and is an excellent blocker away from the ball,” Choate said. “He’s a very good student who was attracted to MSU for the right reasons. He’s an excellent addition to our program. Jabarri is a big-bodied receiver who is a good red zone target, and he creates more depth and competition at the receiver position.”
Choate indicated both players plan to join the Bobcats during player-run summer workouts that lead to the beginning of the team’s fall practice session in August.
Press release written by MSU sports information director Bill Lamberty. Photos contributed.
