Gates Jr. opens up about what he loves about Michigan State

Antonio Gates Jr. has been interested in Michigan State since his sophomore year. But after his official visit, he said he knew he wanted to become a Spartan.

Gates Jr. didn’t do any interviews after his June 4 official visit to Michigan State, but opened up about the process and his recruitment on Monday, following his commitment to the Spartans.

“Oh, I loved the visit,” he said. “I loved it, man. I loved the time I had out there.”

Gates Jr. grew up a casual observer of football, and knew a few things about Michigan State and other programs. As he looked deeper into Michigan State, he became more impressed.

“Growing up, I had been to Michigan State and I just liked Michigan State,” he said. “There was something about them. They were just a team, a real team.”

When Michigan State began recruiting him hard last year under new head coach Mel Tucker, Gates Jr. began learning more about the program.

Gates Jr. is well-known in athletic and recruiting circles in the Detroit area. He has a social, outgoing personality. Basically, he knows everybody and everybody knows him - including current Spartan cornerback Kalon Gervin.

“Gerv was just telling me how it was, how they treat you off the field up there and how you really can’t go wrong up there if you stay focused,” Gates Jr. said. “If you stay focused, there is no reason you can’t come out a successful man.”

Then came the official visit during the weekend of June 4, and Gates Jr. continued to learn about the program.

“I didn’t know that Michigan State had two receivers that I consider Top 10 receivers in Jayden Reed and Speedy (Nailor),” Gates Jr. said. “I didn’t know that. I got a chance to talk to both of those guys and got a chance to watch them work, and got a chance to watch them on my own time and I was impressed. I feel those are NFL-bound guys. I learned about Michigan State in general by watching them.”

Gates Jr. says he wasn’t a huge fan of football when he was younger.

“I was a player, but I didn’t watch much, but I knew Michigan State was a good Big Ten school,” he said. “When I really started watching was when my cousin, Devin Funchess, was in college.”

Funchess became a standout hybrid TE/WR at Michigan. Gates Jr. became inspired to take his game to another level. In the process, he fell in love with Michigan State.

“Now I’m in a position where I’m one of the best players in the country so me going to Michigan State and putting in for my city, that’s all I ever really wanted to do is put in for my hometown - Detroit,” he said. “I’ve got coaches (at Michigan State) that are genuinely wanting to see me do good things.”

Gates Jr. notified Tucker on Sunday that he was ready to commit to Michigan State. He spoke with Tucker and Michigan State wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins.

“We talked for about 20 minutes and they said how they were going to use me, how they were going to put me in position to do big things on and off the field,” he said. “That’s something I like about Michigan State. I like what Michigan State has to offer besides football. I want to look into real estate business and communications and those are things I can pursue there.”

Gates Jr. has excellent cutting ability when making breaks at the top of his routes. He is focused on enhancing that talent by improving his speed.

“It’s getting better,” he said. “It’s good enough that I can beat the guys that I want to beat.”

Such as his good friend, five-star cornerback recruit Will Johnson of Grosse Pointe who is committed to Michigan.

“Will is a guy I’m very high on, a guy I feel is a pro,” Gates Jr. said. “I work out with him every week. We go back-to-back. I pride myself any time I go against this special guy. I tell myself this is the best guy in the country and as I work with him, it can only help me. I feel I’m continuing to get better and he’s helping me do that.

"I want to give Will a shoutout because he motivates me to get better. We do drills together and working out with him makes me better. We are two players from Michigan that want to stand out for our state and our city.”

As for the possibility of those two facing off against one another in college, Gates Jr. isn’t thinking about that right now. Those days are a long way away, and much can happen between now and signing day and the seasons ahead.

“I’m just going to try to help Michigan State recruit,” he said, “and continue to work on my game and really just try to be the best I can be.”