Michigan State WR Antonio Gates Jr., son of former NFL star, enters transfer portal
Two days after the final practice of the spring, Michigan State football could be losing one of its more familiar names and highly regarded prospects.
Antonio Gates Jr. entered the transfer portal Monday; the third-year sophomore went through drills but did not participate in scrimmage activities during Saturday’s “Spartan Spring Showcase” in East Lansing.
Also Monday, two other players entered the portal per a team spokesman: junior running back Davion Primm and sophomore defensive back Sean Brown.
Gates was one of the prizes of former Spartans coach Mel Tucker’s 2022 recruiting class, a four-star prospect out of Dearborn Fordson who was a Free Press Dream Team selection as a senior with 55 catches for 925 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The 6-foot-2, 194-pound Gates redshirted his first year at MSU then played in all 12 games last season, predominantly on special teams, and finished with five receptions for 82 yards and one touchdown. He went through the drills portion of Saturday’s open practice but did not participate in the hour-long scrimmage.
On Thursday, wide receiver coach Courtney Hawkins said Gates had been "positive" and "engaged" during MSU's first 14 spring practices.
"He has flashed," Hawkins said. "He shows the ability to win deep, to win intermediate. I just think he's taken a couple years to kind of figure college ball out and everything that it takes to be a college athlete, student-athlete. And I think things are finally slowing down for him, and he's showing up. If he continues to play like he's playing, he's gonna compete for playing time in the fall. He's had a really good spring."
TIME CAPSULE READING: An All-Pro dad and a superstar son: Inside the life of Antonio Gates Jr.
In some ways, it is history repeating itself. Gates’ father, former NFL superstar tight end Antonio Gates Sr., began his college career playing football for Nick Saban at MSU before transferring first to Eastern Michigan and then to Kent State (coincidentally, Saban’s alma mater) to play basketball before embarking on his NFL career, which featured eight Pro Bowl berths and three All-Pro nods over 16 seasons with the Chargers franchise in San Diego and Los Angeles.
Primm, who will be a fourth-year junior in the fall, played in eight games last season, with 15 snaps on offense and 60 plays on special teams. He had seven carries for 18 yards. Primm played one game in 2022 as a redshirt freshman on special teams and bounced between running back and defensive back that season.
A Detroit native, the 6-foot, 205-pound Primm was the No. 2 player in Michigan out of Oak Park in the 2021 class according to 247 Sports.
Brown, meanwhile, played seven games as a true freshman last season, with three tackles overall while playing 24 snaps in the secondary and 27 on special teams. The 6-3, 196-pound native of Los Angeles was a three-star prospect out of Simi Valley High.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State wide receiver Antonio Gates Jr. enters transfer portal
