Michigan State's Mark Dantonio: DL Cassius Peat did not fulfill obligations to return MSU coach said Peat will not be re-enrolling; he's unsure of cornerback Tyson Smith's football future after a stroke

Chris Solari , Chris Solari | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Takeaways from MSU's news conference on sexual assault charges Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch joins Detroit Free Press writers Chris Solari and Shawn Windsor following Michigan State's news conference on the dismissal of three football players on June 6, 2017.

EAST LANSING – The brief saga of Cassius Peat vs. the Spartans is over.

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said the defensive lineman will not be enrolling at school this fall after Peat claimed he was not given a reason why coaches told him not to return to East Lansing.

“We’ve been in contact with Cassius throughout the semester,” Dantonio said today. “But there’s certain things that you gotta be able to get done before you can come back. It’s one of those things, but I don’t want to speak bad about anybody.”

Dantonio said “it's unfortunate what was written” after Peat told the Free Press and other media outlets that coaches informed him they were parting ways last week. Multiple attempts to contact a program spokesman, university spokesman and members of the football staff were not returned over the weekend for clarification if Peat had ever re-enrolled in MSU.

However, Peat – who originally told the Free Press and Scout.com on Saturday that he had qualified and was “admitted by compliance and the university” – told Rivals.com that he still has not yet finished his associates’ degree at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz. Peat told the website he expects to complete it in August.

Coaches cannot talk about academic issues, with the university generally citing federal privacy laws.

Peat left the Spartans last fall to return home to Arizona but agreed to return in March after he made a rare second official visit to MSU in December.

More: Vayante Copeland done at Michigan State; Demetrius Cooper decision pending

More: Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio promotes Mark Staten, Sheldon White to new roles

Smith questionable: Tyson Smith revealed on Twitter in May that he suffered a stroke last season, and the junior cornerback tweeted this week that he has been cleared medically.

I get cleared this month! — Tyson Smith (@4Tyson_TD) June 13, 2017

However, Dantonio said he does not know if Smith can play football again.

“We’re gonna see where that takes us,” Dantonio said. “So I have my concerns about whether he’s again or not, but that’s an ongoing process. Certainly he’s been a good player for us and everything like that, but I don’t want to really speak to his medical situation. But we’ll see what happens.”

Still healing: Incoming freshman defensive end Lashawn Paulino-Bell, who was injured in an April jet-ski accident in the Bahamas, will not report to MSU with the rest of his class until July 5.

“He’s still on the mend a little bit,” Dantonio said, but he did not provide specifics on Paulino-Bell’s injuries.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!