McDowell a Spartan
Michigan State offered Southfield, Mich., defensive end Malik McDowell a scholarship 21 months ago. On Wednesday, the five-star prospect announced he would be accepting that offer.
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With McDowell on board, Michigan State has now grabbed the state of Michigan's top-ranked prospect in four of the last five classes. A strong final month of the recruiting process helped the Spartans secure McDowell's services. He took his official visit to East Lansing the weekend of Jan. 24, after which his father said, "I know it went good for Malik. He enjoyed himself."
McDowell had narrowed his list from a top seven to a top four of Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State nine days before National Signing Day. He officially visited each of those schools, except Michigan, in the month of January. Official visits to Alabama and Florida were taken in December, but those schools were eliminated before McDowell went into the final week of his recruitment.
The 6-foot-6, 290-pound McDowell is ranked as the No. 26 player in the country, the No. 2 strongside defensive end and the top player in the state of Michigan for the 2014 class. He is one of just 12 prospects who attended the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by Under Armour in both 2012 and 2013.
Josh Helmholdt is a Midwest Region football recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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