DeAnthony Arnett cleared to play next fall

In an unsurprising decision, the NCAA has granted transfer wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett a medical waiver, allowing him to play this coming season after transferring from Tennessee following last season.

Arnett, who chose Tennessee over MSU and a few other schools out of high school, wanted to play closer to his hometown of Saginaw due to the health of his father, who needs a kidney transplant.

What was a surprise, though, was how long it took the NCAA to make a decision on what seemed like a no-brainer. Joe Rexrode of the LSJ reported that the NCAA asked for more medical info twice in the last three weeks. I don't blame the NCAA for wanting to make sure everything checks out, but still.

Looking ahead to next fall, Arnett should be an immediate contributor. He struggled a bit in spring ball, what with a new team and all, but he should be much-improved by the time the season rolls around. He had 24 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns for Tennessee last year. With a depleted receiving corps, MSU needs as much experienced help as it can get.

The MSU football Twitter account sent out some quotes from Arnett and Mark Dantonio.

Arnett:

"Coach D's call (regarding the NCAA's decision) put a big smile on my face. … From the beginning, my father told me not to worry and to put the waiver request in the good Lord's hands. … I'm glad everything is taken care of, so I can concentrate on preparing to have an impact on the team this fall."

Dantonio: 

“We received exciting news from the NCAA late this morning, stating that DeAnthony Arnett’s waiver request has been granted, so he’ll be eligible to participate this season. … The NCAA's decision isn't just beneficial to him as an individual but to his entire family as well, knowing that they'll have an opportunity to see him compete this season. … (He) appreciates Michigan State’s complete team effort, led by (AD) Mark Hollis and (FAR) Mike Kasavana, in presenting his case. … Our compliance staff did an outstanding job of compiling all of his father’s medical records & presenting the facts to the NCAA. … Our director of football operations Tim Allen also worked closely with the compliance staff throughout this process. … "(He) is thrilled with the NCAA’s decision, & he's looking forward to getting back to work in preparation for the upcoming season."

Thoughts on the opening of MSU spring football

Doesn't it feel like we just saw LSU get demolished by Alabama in New Orleans?

The surprisingly successful and exciting MSU basketball season resulted in the last three months going by in the blink of an eye. Now, football back. MSU's first of 15 spring practices took place Tuesday. Spring culminates with the intrasquad scrimmage at 1 p.m. on April 28. The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network, a result of sustained program success. MSU looks to build on back-to-back 11-win seasons, but has some major holes to fill before the season kicks off next fall. That starts with spring practice.

"We want to try to get 3 percent better every practice," Mark Dantonio said at his press conference on Tuesday (full transcript here). "That's something my head coach, my position coach really talked about in spring practice going way back in the 1970s. I think I still try to hold that to be true. So you're going to remain 97 percent of what you do will remain the same. If you can just change that 3 percent every day, you're going to become a more effective football player in the end. So that's what we're trying to do.

"Develop new concepts, new ideas, new position changes and experiment with those different things. We also need to stay healthy, but guard against complacency, I would say. Regardless of where you're at, if you're the head coach here, position coach, position player, you need to look forward to the next thing and really guard in terms of being complacent in everything that we do."

Considering not much has happened on the field yet, the biggest stories are on the depth chart. Bennie Fowler, Chris Norman, Lawrence Thomas and Paul Lang are notable players who will miss part or all of spring due to injuries, but let's take a look at who will be practicing.

Five questions as MSU football heads into spring

With the 2011 season officially in the books after tonight's national championship game, it's time to take a look at what MSU's biggest issues are going to be heading into spring ball.

1. How will Andrew Maxwell transition into the starting role?

I wrote about Maxwell last week. He has all the physical tools to succeed Kirk Cousins, the winningest quarterback in school history. Maxwell also has one of the Big Ten's best running backs, one of the best defenses and one of the most-experienced offensive lines to help him. The only things Maxwell doesn't have are experience and wide receivers. Maxwell knows the offense, as he will be a fourth-year junior next year. He just needs to take everything and show it on on the field.

2. Who will be the new defensive tackles?

Reports: DeAnthony Arnett is a Spartan

This according to Allen Trieu of Scout.com and several media outlets.

Trieu said Arnett visited East Lansing today and met with Mark Dantonio. This shouldn't be a surprise, as is it believed MSU finished to second to Tennessee in his recruitment out of high school. Arnett will begin classes on Monday.

If you don't know the background on Arnett and why the freshman wide receiver is transferring from Tennessee, check this out.

No word yet on if Arnett will be granted a medical hardship because of his ailing father, allowing him to play this upcoming season. Obviously the Spartans are hoping for it, as MSU loses its top three receivers to graduation. Perhaps no one outside of Arnett's family wants to see him on the field more than Andrew Maxwell, who needs all the help he can get in replacing the best quarterback in school history.

MLive spoke with Arnett, and the Saginaw native plans on having his father attend his games at MSU, which is great to hear. The fact East Lansing was closer to Saginaw than Ann Arbor sounds like it was a factor, but MSU was already the frontrunner.

Is DeAnthony Arnett on his way to MSU?

Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley has finally wised up and will let freshman wide receiver and Saginaw native DeAnthony Arnett transfer to any school.

In case you didn't know, Arnett chose Tennessee over MSU, Michigan and other schools last year. Arnett had a solid freshman season (24 catches, 242 yards, 2 TDs), but with his father ailing, Arnett wants to play close to home. Initially, Tennessee would only let Arnett transfer to Mid-American Conference schools in Michigan. But now they'll let him go to to any school, which likely means MSU and U-M are the frontrunners.

Given the facts MSU is closer to Saginaw and Arnett could start right away because of a depleted receiving corps, common sense would say MSU has to be the favorite to land him. He can get a medical hardship from the NCAA and play right away because of his father's situation.

Arnett tweeted: "I am very appreciative of coach Dooley for making this decision today! We both have the same beliefs that family is first! & That it isn't always about football! I wanna say thanks to all the fans for supporting me because you will be truly missed!..."

So what's the deal with DeAnthony Arnett?

For those of you who don't follow recruiting that heavily, DeAnthony Arnett was a highly-recruited wide receiver out of Saginaw who enjoyed all the attention he was getting last year.

He had some fun, posting fake commitment videos on Twitter before eventually choosing Tennessee over MSU, Michigan and other schools.

Arnett had 24 catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman for the Volunteers this past season.  But now Arnett is seeking a transfer to a school back home because of his ailing father, telling ESPN, "I want to play football but I NEED to be here for my Dad and with my family."

Sounds simple enough. But Tennessee isn't making it easy.