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Michigan State Recruiting: 5 reasons Antjuan Simmons will commit

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A helmet is raised in celebration after the Michigan State Spartans defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference football championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A helmet is raised in celebration after the Michigan State Spartans defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference football championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 19, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans take the field prior to their game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans take the field prior to their game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Luxury of staying close to home, facing Michigan

There’s something to be said about recruits staying home and facing a big-time rival that didn’t offer them or extended a scholarship very late in the process. Antjuan reigns from Ann Arbor, Mich., and the Spartans were in on him early on before he committed to Ohio State.

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Simmons released a list of top 10 schools right before he committed to Ohio State and Michigan was absent. The Spartans, Buckeyes and Fighting Irish were on there and many believed that Notre Dame was the team to beat. However, the curious case of Michigan’s absence was due to one major reason: they offered too late.

Michigan got in on him far too late and after his recruitment blew up a bit, which might have rubbed him the wrong way, especially since he plays high school ball at Ann Arbor Pioneer which is a stone’s throw from Michigan’s campus — literally. Heck, you can see the Big House from Pioneer’s parking lot.

The opportunity to stay home and play in front of friends and family is definitely a major pull factor. While Ohio State and Notre Dame aren’t that far away, they are still less likely destinations given that he left the Buckeyes and if he were a “Notre Dame lock” like everyone once thought, he would have committed by now.

Antjuan could stay close to home and take on rival Michigan every season with a huge chip on his shoulder — the Spartan way.

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