Antonio Gates Jr. is no longer on Michigan State football’s roster.

The redshirt sophomore wide receiver, the son of NFL legend Antonio Gates Sr., had been inactive for the Spartans since before MSU's Sept. 21 loss at Boston College. A program spokesperson confirmed his departure, and Gates’ info was removed from the team’s website prior to Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Michigan (BTN).

Gates had four catches for 49 yards in two of MSU's first three games before going inactive. (He did not play in the season opener against Florida Atlantic.) The 6-foot-2, 193-pounder was on the sidelines in street clothes for a home loss to Ohio State last month and did not travel to Oregon for an Oct. 4 loss and was unseen in last week's 32-20 win over Iowa.

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Gates played in all 12 games last season, finishing with five catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.

MSU also officially lost defensive end Avery Dunn for the season. The fifth-year senior had one tackle in his only game this season against Ohio State. Two other Spartans remain out indefinitely with injuries: defensive backs Chance Rucker and Dillon Tatum.

Saturday is the first game at Michigan Stadium between the Spartans (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) at Wolverines (4-3, 2-2) since the 2022 incident in the tunnel following U-M’s 29-7 win. Michigan shut out MSU last year in East Lansing, 49-0, the week allegations involving former staff member Connor Stalions became public.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: WR Antonio Gates Jr. no longer on roster