MSU Assistant, Former Player Leaving for New Job
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One member of the Michigan State coaching staff is heading elsewhere.
Former assistant defensive line coach Antjuan Simmons, who played for MSU for four seasons from 2017-2020, is reportedly leaving the Spartans to become the new linebackers coach at Saginaw Valley State, according to a report by Ryan O'Bleness of Spartans Illustrated. Simmons is no longer listed as a member of the Spartans' coaching staff, either.
Simmons had been coaching with the team in some capacity since 2023 and was going to be retained by Pat Fitzgerald on the new staff to help out head DL coach Winston DeLattiboudere III, but Simmons will instead take on a larger role as a coach at the Division II level. Before becoming the assistant DL coach at MSU this past season, Simmons worked with linebackers during the 2023 season as a graduate student coach and then with the defensive linemen in 2024.
The contributions from Simmons as a player are also huge. He appeared in 46 total games across his time putting on the Michigan State uniform, totaling 231 tackles, 26.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and two interceptions. Simmons was the Spartans' leading tackler during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
More on Simmons, Time at MSU
One interesting factoid is that Simmons is from Ann Arbor. He attended Pioneer High School there, which is literally located across the street from Michigan Stadium. Michigan State's bio of Simmons says that he began his coaching career as the linebackers coach at Pioneer shortly after graduating from MSU in May 2021.
Now headed to SVSU, Simmons will be on the inaugural staff of the new Cardinals coach. Saginaw Valley State fired previous coach Ryan Brady after a 6-5 season in 2025 and replaced him with Michael Engle, who was previously the offensive coordinator at Indianapolis, which had the No. 2 offense in Division II this past season. Simmons will also work under defensive coordinator Jacob Pardonnet, who was also most recently the DC at Division III Hope College.
Going back to Simmons' time as a player, though, his evolution as a player was huge. He improved every single year across his four seasons in East Lansing, three spent with Mark Dantonio as head coach, one with Mel Tucker. During his senior season, Simmons was a second-team all-Big Ten honoree by the media with a 75-tackle season in seven games that was shortened by COVID. Stretched across a normal, 12-game regular season, Simmons was on pace to have 129 tackles that season.
Overall, the "SD4L" moniker undoubtedly belongs to Simmons, between his devotion to Michigan State as a player and a coach.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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