Gates Jr., who initially committed to the Spartans in July, is officially headed to East Lansing to play for Mel Tucker.
Antonio Gates Jr., a four-star wide receiver and son of legendary Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, committed to Michigan State during the early signing period on Wednesday.
Gates, a Dearborn, Mich. native, attends Fordson High School. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver initially announced his commitment to the Spartans program in July. Before his senior season, Gates Jr. was the No. 8 ranked player in state of Michigan according to 247Sports and the No. 45 senior wide receiver in the country.
As Gates Jr. heads to East Lansing, he previously told the Detroit Free-Press that his relationship with Spartans head coach Mel Tucker was like "family."
Gates Sr.—a former two-sport athlete at Detroit Central High School—began his college career at MSU, where he sought to play basketball under Tom Izzo and football under then head coach Nick Saban. He ended up transferring to Eastern Michigan, before transferring again to Kent State where he spent two seasons as a power forward for the Golden Flashes men's basketball program. He led Kent State to the Elite Eight of the '02 NCAA Tournament. After his college basketball career, he signed as an undrafted NFL free agent with the Chargers in '03.
Despite not playing football in college, Gates Sr. spent 16 years with the Chargers before retiring on January 14, 2020. He earned eight Pro-Bowl selections and five NFL All-Pro selections. He finished his career ranked seventh in career touchdown receptions (116) and leads all tight ends in NFL history.
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