Michigan State Signs Arizona 3-Star JUCO DL Cassius Peat Back to Program
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
The long and winding road for defensive end Cassius Peat and Michigan State has intertwined once again with the junior college standout committing to the Spartans on Thursday.
Peat was originally part of the Spartans’ 2015 recruiting class heading to campus as a three-star linebacker from Corona Del Sol high School. At that time, Peat picked the Spartans over offers from Arizona State, Cal, UCLA, Oregon, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon State, Washington State, and Notre Dame. After a redshirt season in 2015 that saw him move to defensive tackle, on Aug. 24, 2016, Peat opted to return back home for a year of junior college ball at Pima.
The ties between Peat and MSU looked to be forever severed after one month with the Aztecs he verbally committed to UCLA. As luck and fate would have it, Peat did not sign with the Bruins leaving a very-very rare opportunity for a transfer to return back to his previous school.
Pima posted a 3-6 (2-5) record in WSFL/ACC action during the 2016 season. Peat (6-3, 275) did not register an official stat, per Pima records, in 2016. The Spartans will have Peat for three years of eligibility.
247Sports ranks the Spartans 2017 class No. 34 in the nation, No. 6 overall in the Big Ten. At the time of post, Rivals had not updated Peat’s commitment ranking the Spartans No. 33 in the nation without the three-star attached to the class.
Michigan State 2017 Verbal Commitment List (24)
FS Emmanuel Flowers, 6-1, 175, Ruben S. Ayala, Chino, CA
SS Dominique Long, 6-2, 189, Westerville South, Westerville, OH
CB Tre Person, 6-0, 165, Westlake HS, Atlanta, GA
CB Josiah Scott, 5-9.5, 155, Fairfield HS, Fairfield, OH
LB/RB Darien Clemons, 6-1, 214, Piqua HS, Piqua, OH
LB Antjuan Simmons, 6-1, 215, Pioneer HS, Ann Arbor, MI
DE/TE Jack Camper, 6-6, 230, IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL
DE Jacub Panasiuk, 6-3, 266, Lake Park HS, Roselle, IL
DE Lashawn Paulino-Bell, 6-4, 235, St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, FL
DE/DT Cassius Peat, 6-3, 275, Pima C.C., Tucson, AZ
DE DeAri Todd, 6-4, 245, Clearview HS, Lorain, OH
DE Donovan Winter, 6-4, 235, Bishop Moore, Orlando, FL
OG Matt Carrick, 6-4, 275, Perry HS, Massillon, OH
OG Kevin Jarvis, 6-5, 330, Maine South HS, Park Ridge, IL
OG Jordan Reid, 6-3.5, 286, Cass Tech, Detroit, MI
OT Mustafa Khaleefah, 6-6, 282, Dearborn HS, Dearborn, MI
TE Matt Dotson, 6-5, 235, Moeller HS, Cincinnati, OH
RB Weston Bridges, 5-11, 190, Copley HS, Akron, OH
QB Rocky Lombardi, 6-4, 220, West Valley HS, Des Moines, IA
WR CJ Hayes, 6-3, 200, South Warren HS, Bowling Green, KY
WR Laress Nelson, 5-10, 171, American Heritage HS, Fort Lauderdale, FL
WR Hunter Rison, 5-11, 190, Skyline HS, Ann Arbor, MI
WR Cody White, 6-3, 190, Walled Lake Western HS, Walled Lake MI
ATH Connor Heyward, 6-2, 215, Peachtree Ridge HS, Suwanee, GA
Photo credit: 247sports.com; No. 32 Cassius Peat practicing with Michigan State.