Why Transfer OL Andrew Dennis Re-Committed to Michigan State

Michigan State transfer offensive lineman Andrew Dennis had committed to the Spartans before decommitting and choosing Illinois.

Nov 24, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; A Michigan State Spartans helmet sits on a bench during the / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State transfer offensive lineman Andrew "A.J." Dennis' world was turned upside down when Michigan State went through its Mel Tucker calamity last year.

The Tucker news broke just after Dennis has committed to the Spartans. Instead of immediately changing his mind, however, Dennis waited it out before he ultimately decided he would commit to Illinois.

He discussed the situation when he joined "The Drive With Jack " on Friday.

“Had some contact with the staff and I waited about a month or two, and there’s no new information about what's going," Dennis said. "So, you don’t really have a head coach less than a month from signing day. It’s getting stressful by that point because you don’t know if you should wait or find a spot. And so, I just wanted to find a spot. And we were actually on our way back after I committed to Illinois, and you see Coach Smith get hired, so it was kind of a funny timing.”

After Jonathan Smith was hired as Michigan State's new head coach, the Spartans took the opportunity to pursue Dennis once again.

“You kind of look at the term rebuild, and he [Smith] did a great job of that at Oregon State," Dennis said. "You see that, whether it’s winning 10 games or putting guys in the league like they did last weekend with [Taliese Fuaga]. … So, you see that's there, they’re not just kind of selling it to you. So you see that, and when I was committed, I told them, ‘Hey, I'm not going to go visit anywhere else.’ And that happened with Illinois, and I told them the same thing. [Michigan State was] like, ‘Hey, we get it, wholeheartedly, 100%.’ And so, they [Michigan State] understood that, and they came up and saw me once, and I heard them out. 

In an effort to not "burn bridges," Dennis told Michigan State he appreciated them coming to talk to him. That effort would end up paying off.

“I was around some great people [at Illinois], but I just didn’t feel like it was the best fit for me," Dennis said. "I wanted to be closer to home, and here we are today.”

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