Michigan State Football: 4-star WR Antonio Gates Jr. postpones commitment

Four-star receiver Antonio Gates Jr. was planning on making his decision on Saturday, but the Michigan State football target postponed it.

Saturday was supposed to be a big day for Michigan State. Antonio Gates Jr., the son of NFL legend Antonio Gates, was expected to announce his commitment.

The four-star 2022 receiver from Dearborn (Mich.) Fordson looked like a strong Michigan State lean and Mel Tucker was about to reel in his first big fish in the class. This would have kickstarted a class that currently remains empty and he could help the Spartans land some other in-state kids and potentially build momentum into the fall.

Instead, the junior receiver decided to postpone his decision which was surprising given the fact that he had this date circled for months.

The news, according to SpartanTailgate, broke on Saturday and the reasons for his decision to postpone are behind a paywall. He’s “taking some time to think things over” which may not be the best news for Michigan State.

Gates Jr. is one of the best receivers in the 2022 class, ranked No. 21 at the position and No. 171 overall, according to 247Sports. He’s also the state of Michigan’s No. 4 prospect.

A win in this recruitment would have gone a long way for Tucker and Co. when trying to win some in-state battles. Landing a top-five prospect from the state would have built some momentum for the cycle and before Tucker even coached a single game at MSU, that’d be massive.

In case you don’t remember, Gates Jr. has ties to MSU through his father who started his career in East Lansing before Nick Saban told him he couldn’t play both football and basketball so he transferred. He doesn’t hold any negative feelings about the Spartans, but it’s clear he wants his son to think things over a little more.

Michigan State might end up winning this recruitment, but it just got a little tougher.