SAGINAW -- Former Saginaw High star DeAnthony Arnett announced Wednesday that he will play for Michigan State University.

Arnett was granted his release Tuesday from the University of Tennessee after catching 24 passes as a true freshman. Arnett asked for his release so that he could play closer to his family, including his father (William Arnett) who has faced some serious medical problems, including heart surgery and dialysis.

Arnett, 19, will begin classes Monday at Michigan State when students return from winter break.

"It was tough from an emotional standpoint, going through things with my father," Arnett said. "The choice of going to State wasn't hard at all.

"State is home. They were one of the teams that recruited me the hardest. I didn't talk to anyone from (University of) Michigan. I wasn't able to talk to Coach (Mark) Dantonio. I had to wait until Tennessee released me. When that happened, everything else happened right away. It was an easy choice. State is only a 50-minute drive from my house."

Arnett asked for his release prior to leaving Tennessee for winter break, although he had thought about the decision since September.

"When I was recruited, my dad was doing better," Arnett said. "But in September, he started dialysis and everything became a struggle for him. He got really weak, really sick."

His father was not able to travel to Tennessee to watch Arnett play.

"I expect him to be at my games at State ... it's not a long drive at all," Arnett said.

Arnett still has some work to do, including applying for a hardship waiver from the NCAA to become eligible for the 2012 season.

According to Arnett, however, he will not lose any eligibility. If his waiver is denied, he would be forced to use his redshirt year in 2012, but would still retain all three years of eligibility.

"I don't think there's any doubt that I'll get the waiver, but whenever you walk into a situation like this, you expect and plan for the worst," Arnett said. "Whatever happens, I will not lose any eligibility."

Arnett is walking into a wide-open situation at receiver with MSU receivers B.J. Cunningham, Keshawn Martin and Keith Nichol leaving, along with starting quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Former Midland High quarterback Andrew Maxwell is expected to start at quarterback next season for the Spartans. Maxwell and Arnett competed against each other in the Saginaw Valley League.

"I'm walking into a beautiful situation," Arnett said. "I talked to Andrew. We talked about things. I'm ready to roll. We've played against each other. He beat us every time. But the Midland High game when I was a sophomore was one of my best games. It was the game that got my name out there."

Arnett hopes some of the rumors die now that the process is completed.

"I heard that I was only leaving because Coach (Charlie) Baggett left, but that's not true at all," Arnett said. "I actually talked to him about leaving in October, telling him about all the problems my dad was having back home.

"He lifted me up, confidence-wise and kept me going.

"And it had nothing to do with me being homesick. Who has time to be homesick? When you're away like that, you don't have time to think about home. You get up at 6 a.m. meetings, practice, class, study hall, more meetings, homework. Being homesick was never an issue.

"Nobody on the outside really knew what was going on. It's between me and my family. I don't feel it's right for people to be judgmental about something they don't really know everything about."

The 6-foot, 175-pound Arnett, was a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com, caught 24 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman for the Volunteers.