McDowell releases top 4, UM in
Per @TomVH
Malik McDowell RT @D1_LEEK My top 4 colleges! Michigan, Michigan State, Florida State, Ohio State.
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) January 28, 2014
If he had no interest, he didn't have to list us. Maybe there's a chance.
January 27th, 2014 at 11:06 PM ^
Hopefully UM earns the commitment from him.
January 27th, 2014 at 11:54 PM ^
January 28th, 2014 at 12:00 AM ^
Malik is a smart kid from a great family. That's why I say we have a chance. Dad has a bigger perspective that one Rose Bowl. Plus they value academics - which is a plus.
Speaking personally UM has opened so many doors for me it's crazy. My company's management team has quite a few Michigan grads, but no Spartys. MSU is a good school, don't get me wrong. It just doesn't have the national reputation of M.
If Malik chooses another school don't go all ballistic on the kid. He's doing what he wants.
Anyway I hope he comes to Michigan. Go Blue!
January 28th, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
"Speaking personally UM has opened so many doors for me it's crazy."
Similar for me, although I did not attend UM (was fortunate enough to get into a private school in California that I shall not name) there are somehow many other UM fans in upper management at my company and that has opened more doors/created connections than the prestige of my alma mater. There's no doubt in my mind I would not be where I am in my career if I were not a big UM fan and had those connections as a result.
January 28th, 2014 at 10:59 AM ^
Which is also said by virtually every recruit who chooses a school other than Michigan. Nobody ever says, "well, education isn't really important so I chose Ohio State."
OK, everybody except Cardale Jones.
January 28th, 2014 at 12:22 AM ^
January 28th, 2014 at 7:43 AM ^
is going nowhere...he'll be the defensive coordinator as long as Dantonio is around.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:25 AM ^
January 28th, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^
What constitutes him being close to taking the Uconn job?
January 28th, 2014 at 12:40 AM ^
MSU - 75%
OSU - 20%
UM - 2.5%
FSU - 2.5%
I dont believe this is a Will Campbell situation. If he really prefers UM over MSU, he wd have taken the official with UM, not MSU. I understand him taking an official to FSU, Florida or LSU cos those are far away places. But MSU? A place he has visited many times?
January 28th, 2014 at 7:31 AM ^
Maybe he would have taken an official to Michigan if there were any good basketball games going on in Ann Arbor...
January 28th, 2014 at 12:44 AM ^
I predict that he will pick a college in America, cause America.
January 28th, 2014 at 6:52 AM ^
January 28th, 2014 at 7:28 AM ^
If his parents being huge fans were deciding this, he'd have committed to us by now. It's pretty clear he's making this decision based on what HE wants, and Sam has mentioned he's largely about the fun - and for whatever reason he has more fun at Staee.
Staee
Ohio
Michigan
Florida
January 28th, 2014 at 8:32 AM ^
he's been to michigan a lot! He may already have his mind made up that Michigan is the place and is taking all these O.V. to make sure. The contrary is Michigan isn't even in top 2 and he isn't even interested, only keeping us in the list out of respect. Tough to say, it's this kids decision, I hope he goes where he is happiest.
January 28th, 2014 at 8:02 AM ^
I want to care, but I just can't anymore. Call me on NSD.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:05 AM ^
He talked about McDowell yet again on this morning's recruiting roundup (podcast; go to ~5:30). His key point may have been this: "If anyone is telling you which way this is going to go, they are not privy to the inner workings of this recruitment."
He also suggested that Florida State may arise as a comprimise choice. McDowell had an "outstanding" visit down there, his mom liked their coaches, and they have family down there.
He also said things could change as far as the plans for the OSU official go. The Michigan staff is trying to at least get an in-home visit set up.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:15 AM ^
Dad wants Michigan.
Malik wants MSU.
Mom likes FSU and they go that route so dad and family aren't upset he chose Sparty over Michigan.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:28 AM ^
Interesting...After listening, it sounds like Sam is saying State is out (rough quote was "I can tell you he isn't going to the place people are thinking"). We need a beast on the DL; sure hope he decides that A2 is the place.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^
I think your rough quote is a misinterpretation. There were people claiming that McDowell committed to MSU last weekend. Webb is saying those claims are wrong and that the family still has a deliberation process to go through before a decision is made.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:56 AM ^
Wasn't in any way saying Sparty was out of it. Reiterated that McDowell has more fun at MSU (which, must have been a fun year on campus when they go 11-1, but if the 7-6 year before probably wasn't the same atmosphere).
Best thing to take from the update is that he says no one knows. I personally think Sam lets his heart get in the way and biases toward M (he should have seen the Hand decision coming given his access), so I'm still thinking MSU. But it's better news than the flood of crystal ball picks, or rumors McDowell already committed to Sparty last weekend.
January 28th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
I listen to Sam virtually every morning, and in the final 2-3 weeks prior to Hand's announcement Sam was very open in saying that it was wide open between UM and Alabama, and while he was his usual optimistic "Michigan has a chance!" self, he was NOT predicting Hand to Michigan. In fact, he said repeatedly that if Hand's decision was purely about football, that he would go to Alabama.
January 28th, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^
He just meant that in terms of UA being a football factory. His final statement was, "If he's going with his heart, it will be Michigan; if he's going with his mind, it will be Alabama." Which I agree is neither one way or the other.
But do you remember what another criteria was that last week (or even the day or two before)? The father told him that whether Nick Saban stays at UA or goes to Texas would be one of the primary factors. That right there should have been the indicator that he was going to Alabama. I'm a biased fan homer, so I didn't pick up on that either. But after the fact, with a clear head on what people say, that was the key in knowing Hand was going to UA. In my opinion Sam should have known that.
But no offense implied, I'm a Sam fan. I promote his show on this blog every chance I get (listen on WTKA if in the area or hook them up on Iheartradio)
January 28th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
Yep, I remember that well. In addition, the fact that Sam did not travel down to VA to attend the presser was a tipoff to me that Hand wasn't coming here. Sam strenuously tried to deny that there was any connection, but I was skeptical of his denial.
By early fall I concluded that Hand wasn't coming here anyhow, so the decision wasn't a shock to me in the least.
January 28th, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^
That's hard to say. I think you're right in that he said the family still has a process to go through and that there was no commit to MSU over the weekend, but he also sounded pretty confident that Malik was not going to the place most assume (which I assume to be MSU). I might have read too far between the lines (given my maize-tinted glasses and that my brain is frozen this morning), but could be worth a re-listen.
Upon re-listen:
at ~10:45 "It won't be a simple pick. It won't necessarily be the obvious pick, at least in the eyes of some people."
but, at ~11:00 "I don't know. [His parents] don't know which way it's going to go."
January 28th, 2014 at 10:16 AM ^
All he's saying that a lot of people have concluded he's going to Sparty, and in his opinion no one knows because the family doesn't even know yet. He's specifically trying to refute those who believe he's 100% headed to Sparty or already committed.
January 28th, 2014 at 10:52 AM ^
Agreed. I'm just trying to be optimistic.
January 28th, 2014 at 11:35 AM ^
I listened to Sam this morning too, and his statement could just as easily apply to all the people who think he'll choose Michigan because "he's been a lifelong fan" or "Education!"
If anything, what Sam has said repeatedly over the last week or so about how much MM "has more fun at MSU" (whatever that means) leads me to suspect that MSU will be the final destination, and that Sam won't be surprised at all.
If it's not Michigan, I hope it FSU, just on the chance he turns out to be a bona fide beast.
January 28th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
This being my total homer guess/thought is that if he were going to commit to State, he would have made the decision (even if not announced it) during his official (which was a big MSU recruiting weekend). Maybe his parents have been able to convince him that "fun" isn't the deciding factor in choosing a college (though I bet many parents have failed in the same quest for athletes and non-athletes alike). As such, I'm in the same "if not Michigan, then FSU" boat that you are.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:54 AM ^
January 28th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
being in there. Because as twitter has proven, douchebags will be douchebags
January 28th, 2014 at 11:48 AM ^
what difference there is between official visit and a unofficial? I do know the school foots the bill (on a official visit) and makes it easier for recruits who live far away to come and get a good look at school, but can't they take a unofficial and still get the same tour as a official visitor. I guess what I am asking in short is why would he MM waste an official to visit a close school when he can do it unofficially with his parents? It would make perfect sense that he would take an official to FSU so the school would pay air fare.
January 28th, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^
This is good news. Maybe? Who the hell knows......
January 29th, 2014 at 8:34 AM ^
There is a pretty good update on the status of MM's recruitment on the podcast. The feeling is that no one knows what's going on. MM's mother said the decision may go beyond National Signing Day.
January 29th, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^
I was trying to think about this from a player's perspective this morning, especially a defensive player. MSU is coming off a Rose Bowl win, FSU is coming off a national championship. MSU's defensive staff is being praised left and right all over America. There are obviously many many benefits to coming to UM, but those facts certainly weigh against it. Hopefully the degree, his connection to current players and recruits, his childhood fandom, and a belief that he can help right the ship will be enough to get him to commit to UM.
January 29th, 2014 at 10:26 AM ^
January 29th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
I'm not sure about Florida State, but I think McDowell could probably be in the two-deep at MSU almost immediately.