If you look back to 2011, wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett was on top of the world. Arnett, hailing from Saginaw, was a four-star wide receiver with a bevy of offers from some of the best schools in the nation including — MSU, Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, USC and Oklahoma among others according to Rivals.
The No. 40 overall player in the country and the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan according to 247 Sports, Arnett chose to further his education at Tennessee.
Arnett played in all 12 games as a true freshman and began a promising career with 24 catches for 242 yards with an average of 10.1 yards per catch and two touchdowns.
Six months later Arnett transferred from Tennessee so he could be closer to his hometown and his father William, who is battling heart and kidney problems — a sensitive subject for DeAnthony.
“It’s been a hell of a journey,” Arnett said. “As an 18-year-old kid going to Tennessee nine hours away from home and then coming back six months later to come back to Michigan State and obviously go through ... three of the most challenging years of my life.
“But, it’s made me a better person ... it made me a better person, a better player — a stronger person, a stronger player. If any of you were to ask I feel like the move has been great for me, I don’t have any regrets.”
The NCAA ruled Arnett eligible to play as a sophomore, waiving the requirement to sit out a year for the transfer because of the circumstances.
However, Arnett did not do much in his first year — recording just three catches for 69 yards. Arnett made just one catch the following season, but he was granted a redshirt for injury.
The next year wasn’t much better for Arnett as he only saw action in two games and had two catches.Six catches in three seasons was certainly not what was expected for the former top talent in Michigan.
“(It was) not easy (Arnett), but it’s darkest before the dawn,” wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel said. “He’s one of those guys, to me, that he’s embracing this opportunity and he knows that he has a hell of an opportunity to play and get in there and make his fingerprint on this season and on this team.”
Samuel also spoke about the challenges that Arnett faced in learning an offense as a freshman at Tennessee and then having to start all over at MSU.
“You go to Tennessee and you learn that offense and the way they do things and the way that wide receiver coach works,” Samuel said. “And then you come to another wide receiver coach and there might be a little bit of difference in concepts or the way they teach and things of that nature, so it’s not easy.”
At last, the redshirt senior seems primed for a big season. Arnett caught five passes for 51 yards in the spring game and the coaches are excited for him.
“There’s a lot of confidence from the staff for him to just go out there and play,” Samuel said. “I really think he’s going to have a great senior year. I’ve got a lot of trust in him to just go out there and do it.”
Despite the arduous journey, Arnett would not have had it any other way. Football is his outlet to let out his frustrations.
“The right move was coming back and being close to home, being with my family and being able to establish relationships here at Michigan State and play for the best coach in America — Coach D,” Arnett said. ”(On the football field) I kind of lose myself, that’s my safe haven so that’s where I let all my energy and frustration out.”
Arnett believes the he and his teammates are prepared to have a big season and “reach higher”.
“I just expect us to all have a great year, you can just see it in practice,” Arnett said. “Everybody is so interchangeable, we can all just go out there and make plays. I feel like this is going to be a fun and exciting season.
“We’ve come so close. Losing that game at Oregon, losing at home to Ohio State, (it was) a game of inches. We know we got those same opportunities this year and the goal is to reach higher. We definitely got to dig deep into ourselves and go a place where we’ve never been and win those tough games like that.”
