OT: 2017 LB Antjuan Simmons commits to Michigan State
Antjuan Simmons, who played across the street from Michigan Stadium at Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer, committed to Michigan State this afternoon. He had been previously committed to Ohio State. He's a 4-star, the #20 OLB, and #316 overall. He's also #8 in the state. Michigan has the top 6 guys, Donovan Johnson (PSU) is #7, and then Simmons.
I think Simmons can be a good player in college. It's unfortunate he got upset that Michigan didn't offer him sooner. Oh well. We have a good LB class without him, so it might not hurt us that much down the road.
January 14th, 2017 at 2:12 PM ^
What are your thoughts about his potential?
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January 14th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^
I think he's a heat-seeking missile. He would probably be a WILL or a SAM/Viper in Michigan's defense. He's a little undersized, but so are some other guys for those spots. He's a hard hitter and a good offensive player to boot.
January 14th, 2017 at 5:30 PM ^
Why our staff didn't seem that high on him?
January 14th, 2017 at 6:15 PM ^
Not really, no. He seems plenty talented, especially when you compare him to some of the other players Michigan has offered.
January 14th, 2017 at 6:20 PM ^
I'd love to know the real story
January 14th, 2017 at 6:49 PM ^
Do we need a 4th LB or are we just holding out for Willie Gay because he is elite? I'm surprised we did not jump back in when he opened up.
I see guys like a Simmons as a bonus commit when we get them. We get a good player and every time we keep one from going to MSU it's a good thing. Especially with their limited reach.
January 14th, 2017 at 9:44 PM ^
AFAIK, we have four linebackers: Ben Mason, Joshua Ross, Drew Singleton, and Jordan Anthony. A lot of people are assuming Mason will end up at FB, but he was recruited as a LB.
I don't think we NEED another linebacker. We should have a solid two-deep of talent, regardless of whether we add another LB (McCray, Bush, Gil, Mbem-Bosse, Uche, the incoming freshmen, etc.). I don't think Simmons necessarily would improve that group from a talent perspective.
Gay is an elite talent, though. IMO, he would probably start as a true freshman next year.
January 14th, 2017 at 11:57 PM ^
It does seem like our LBs are getting more quickness and athleticism.
January 14th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^
Thoughts?
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January 14th, 2017 at 2:19 PM ^
He must have been offered number 39...
January 14th, 2017 at 2:36 PM ^
What am I missing on the 39 stuff?
January 14th, 2017 at 2:38 PM ^
MSU record 3-9
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January 14th, 2017 at 3:17 PM ^
Coach D selling results.
January 14th, 2017 at 5:47 PM ^
Clearly a Czonka fan
January 14th, 2017 at 3:56 PM ^
Those who stayed...went 3-9.
January 14th, 2017 at 6:14 PM ^
collected a lifetime supply of Lays
January 14th, 2017 at 2:14 PM ^
Was never really interested in him. We had our top guys and he wasn't in the top group at any point.
January 14th, 2017 at 3:06 PM ^
That's such a buckeye thing to say. One of the top 10 guys in the state, of course I'd like to see him at Michigan. Sparty is going to get their players, good defensive history. But we will continue to kick their ass if we pull in the best in and out of the state. And because Harbaugh.
January 14th, 2017 at 3:18 PM ^
He got a late offer from M. The 3 guys we have committed are all more highly rated, as is Gay. It's fair to say Harbaugh didn't especially want him. That means all the "trust the coach" guys don't particularly want him either.
January 14th, 2017 at 3:46 PM ^
Simmons was offered by Michigan in early November of his junior year. He's had an offer for 14+ months now. I know "late" is a subjective term, but that's not late.
January 14th, 2017 at 6:55 PM ^
Again I have to correct Magnus. There is a difference between an "offer" and going hard after a recruit. I don't believe Simmons was ever a take for us.
January 14th, 2017 at 7:00 PM ^
You're not correcting me on anything. They offered him, period. Whether they went hard after him is a different story. Thanks for trying, though.
January 14th, 2017 at 11:13 PM ^
There is no trying. To say we offered him without qualifying your statement that Michigan did not heavily pursue him is a disservice to people reading your comment. The truth is the big boys didn't make him a priority so he jumped at his "offer" from OSU and they kicked him to the curb for a better player.
Now is he a good get for Sparty ? He sure is. But he is not Michigan or OSU material (according t Harbuagh and Meyer).
January 14th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
This is a dumb argument.
Literally every recruiting site has a check mark in the offer column for Antjuan Simmons and Michigan. I don't need to qualify my statement that he was offered. He was offered. The only one disputing that is some random poster on MGoBlog.
What a waste of time disputing this.
January 14th, 2017 at 11:47 PM ^
What is dumb about the argument ? It seems to me perfectly logical to distinguish between a recruit Michigan is trying hard to get and one Michigan "offers" as a back up plan.
January 15th, 2017 at 12:06 AM ^
If you feel it's an important distinction, then make the distinction. But don't pretend you're somehow correcting me or that I'm serving up misinformation.
January 15th, 2017 at 12:19 PM ^
Michigan has offered 306 student athletes...I don't think they have that many spots to fill. Qualifying whether an offer is a "real" offer or whether an athlete is really a take, would seem to be pretty important in determining whether or not Michigan missed on a commit or not. Simmons doesn't seem to be a "miss", at least, not based on the actions of the Michigan coaching staff. They seem to be comfortable either waiting for Gay or not adding another LB at all (over adding Simmons)...
January 15th, 2017 at 6:37 PM ^
Michigan has offered 311 student-athletes in 2017.
Regardless, I don't have a problem with the distinction. But whether it was an offer or an "offer," Michigan offered/"offered" him a long time ago.
And if he didn't get an offer then, he didn't get an offer at all. Because Michigan hasn't been recruiting him hard late in the process.
January 15th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^
I think both schools will regret passing on simmons. If he stays healthy I think he'll end up being a all BIG 10 type of player.OSU didn't necessarily kick him to the curb for a better player. He went on a visit to msu without informing the OSU coaching staff. Not long after they signed Browning and Simmons reopened his recruitment. He had mentioned one of the reasons he chose OSU was the lack of attention UM showed him ealier in the process.
January 15th, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^
There's no reason for M or OSU to have regrets later on. For OSU, he is ranked lower than any other player in their class, except for the Kicker. M has 3 LBs who are ranked higher than he is. I'll assume Brian and the rest of the Mgoblog braintrust are correct in categorizing Mason as a FB and Paye as a LB. Paye seems to be handpicked by Brown as a guy who is a grest fit for his system, i.e., a better choice than Simmons.
You never know how things will turn out with any individual. Injuries or personal issues can sidetrack anyone. All the coaches can do is check the character of the individual and make their best estimate of how an individual will develop in their system. It may happen that Simmons will turn out to be All B1G or better. Even if that happens there will be no reason for regrets for coaches who have done their due diligence.
January 15th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^
I'll admit that's earlier than I realized, but I think it still qualifies as "late" for the #20 ranked 4* OLB who is literally across the street, just outside the 247 composite 300 and ranked eighth in the state. Not that it matters whether it qualifies as "late" or not, it's pretty obvious that Harbaugh has never been particularly interested in having him as part of the 2017 class.
January 14th, 2017 at 3:20 PM ^
Except it's true. Michigan didn't really have much interest in him.
January 14th, 2017 at 3:39 PM ^
We didn't have the interest in him. Totally get it, I deserve the ridicule.
But let me ask this, why is his commitment post worthy? Do we start posts, two of them mind you, for every sparty commit? Or just the ones we're not interested in?
January 14th, 2017 at 3:46 PM ^
....or maybe because he goes to school in Ann Arbor???
January 14th, 2017 at 3:51 PM ^
If this were virtually anyone else, I wouldn't post about it when he commits elsewhere. But he played across the street from Michigan Stadium. Probably almost everyone who visits this site has tailgated at, walked past, or at least seen Ann Arbor Pioneer.
January 14th, 2017 at 3:59 PM ^
Pioneer is literally across the street from Michigan Stadium.
January 14th, 2017 at 4:08 PM ^
Just kidding....
January 14th, 2017 at 4:18 PM ^
You mean kitty corner?
January 14th, 2017 at 4:25 PM ^
No he means Kidd E. Corner, renowned land surveyor.
January 14th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
I once saw a stripper named Kitty Corner. I believe this was in Oshkosh was it not?
January 14th, 2017 at 5:08 PM ^
You better have treated her right. This Kitty Corner you speak of happens to be my mother.
January 14th, 2017 at 5:43 PM ^
to Cherry Forever.
January 14th, 2017 at 5:50 PM ^
I did treat her right. Say hi to your real daddy.
January 14th, 2017 at 5:57 PM ^
Yay, 2 Christmases!
January 14th, 2017 at 6:48 PM ^
I'm getting you that Atari game system you wanted. It comes with Pong!
January 14th, 2017 at 8:11 PM ^
And I'm making you an awful clay cup that says "#1 DAD" in shitty, 5th grade lettering for Father's Day. You'll be embarrassed to take it to work with you, but you will anyway because you know it would break my heart if you didn't.
January 14th, 2017 at 8:20 PM ^
I'll buy that for a dollar...
January 14th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^
Which brings me back to my original point, if we weren't interested in him, why is it relevant enough to be post worthy?
I say it is relevant. I say that since it's relevant, it's disrespectful to say we weren't interested in him.
January 14th, 2017 at 4:17 PM ^
That depends on who "we" are. We (Michigan fans) are more interested than we (Michigan's football program) are. Michigan held off on offering for a while and didn't really try to change his mind.