Wednesday morning the Pac-12’s loss was the Big Ten’s gain as Tempe Corona del Sol star defensive end/linebacker Cassius Peat passed on Arizona State to sign with Mark Dantonio and Michigan State on National Letter of Intent Day.
“I just felt really comfortable with the people over there,” Peat said after signing his letter of intent. “I just wanted to weigh out all my options evenly and just make sure I made the best decision at the end of the day.”
The third-ranked player out of Arizona originally committed to UCLA but re-opened his recruitment in early December.
Peat will be trading in the mild Arizona winters for the chill of the midwest which coincides with the physical brand of play in the Big Ten and one of the nation’s top defenses at MSU.
“That’s one of the main reasons why I signed with them,” he explained. “I feel like that was my brand of football…the Big Ten is a great conference. I feel very happy about my decision. I feel very relieved at the same time.”
MSU sent three assistants to visit the 6’4, 235-pounder, who also plays forward on Corona’s top-ranked basketball team, late last month.
Other schools who made a late run for Peat’s services were Oregon and Oklahoma.
Peat joins Pinnacle quarterback Brian Lewerke who’s also headed to East Lansing this summer.
Eric Sorenson
