Cold War

February 2nd, 2014 at 9:50 AM ^

Would like to have Malik but his  recruitement is getting pretty overrated right now. There's more attention than he would normally get because he's local, Sparty is our primary opposition, and he's the last moving part in the class.

We're top  10 in average stars and will be  close to that regardless of how the next several days unfold.

Raoul

February 2nd, 2014 at 9:55 AM ^

He wouldn't say exactly what, but Sam Webb on WTKA this morning said that something happened during McDowell's official visit to MSU that opened his recruitment up completely to other schools. He said if he wrote a story about it would be "salacious" and  would make national headlines. It sounds like his parents have good reason to steer him away from East Lansing.

Raoul

February 2nd, 2014 at 10:45 AM ^

Good question. I don't want to characterize it either way. Listen to the podcast yourself and make your own judgment: link (skip to 0:30).

I should clarify what I wrote above: Sam didn't say that something salacious happened on the visit, he said that the story he could write about the visit would be salacious and "devastating" to MSU. But again, I encourage people to listen to the podcast, rather than rely on my summary.

EDIT: I should have noted that what Sam said in that link posted above was a follow-up to his more detailed discussion of McDowell earlier on the show. For that part, see this podcast (skip to around 1:00).

EDIT2: I should also emphasize that whatever happened on the visit, Sam says that McDowell might still pick MSU. All four finalists are still in the running.

M-Dog

February 2nd, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^

When you listen to the second podcast, Sam says to be careful (MSU) about who you hold up as an example about academics on Official Visits.
 
Reading between the lines, it may have been a situation where one of the MSU host FB players told Malik something along the lines of "We didn't come here to play school", that academics for FB players were just a rubber stamp.  
 
It may have been what set his parents off and as a result has them publically preaching the gospel of academics so hard to Malik. 
 

Don

February 2nd, 2014 at 10:46 AM ^

Sam gave the strong impression this morning that whatever happened was a factor insofar as Malik's parents were concerned, rather than being Malik's reaction.

Sam used the term "blow the doors off" several times as a description of what happened to the notion that MSU had pretty much locked up Malik and shut the door to other schools.

It's hard for me to believe that MSU would have done something officially or unofficially during the visit that would have engendered such a reaction from MM's parents, but recruiting does crazy things to people.

ClearEyesFullHart

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^

I read through this whole worthless thread trying to find out what happened on his official.  Nothing.  Sam made it sound like it was the person State brought in to position as his role model...?  Supposedly MSU had a slam dunk, and this person "Blasted the doors open" for other schools...?

Did they bring in Charles Rogers?  Cole Corey?  "Tom" Gholston? Adreian Payne?

MinWhisky

February 2nd, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^

It would be interesting to know the status of graduates, or ex-players who did not graduate, who were on football scholarships at the two schools but did not go on to pro football.   By "status", I mean solid, hard, data on their current situation, not just anecdotal evidence.

If those outcomes really mattered to schools, those schools should have that information and be able to make it available to recruits.

I graduated from UofM and it was a big deal in securing one particular position, but with time, it's what have you accomplished in your career that matters most to prospective employers.

Jack Daniels

February 2nd, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^

Judging from his parents' comments on what they're looking for in a school, I'd say OSU is the best fit.

Academics at UM are better but not significantly better; OSU is a pretty decent school. When it comes to football, they (and FSU) kick our ass. Meyer and Mattison have both sent a number of DL to the NFL, so that could be considered a draw.

However, I believe the presence of Larry Johnson Jr., who may be one of, if not the best, DL coaches in the country, will away MM to OSU. It would be unfortunate.

Princetonwolverine

February 2nd, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^

Are we taking our recruits to canasta parties when they visit ???????

All of the discussion here about the reputation of MSU vs UM with employers seems to miss an important fact. The employer many football players are interested in being hired by is the NFL.

Der Alte

February 2nd, 2014 at 11:02 AM ^

If a FBS school offers a young man the opportunity to play football in exchange for a full scholarship and that young man accepts by signing a letter of intent, is that process not akin to an employment contract? If the school directs that young man's course of study into, say, general studies, and supervises his study time to maintain his eligibilty in that course of study, is this not requiring that the young man adhere to certain employer-mandated performance standards, much like an employee would have to do? And if the coaching staff tells the young man when he needs to appear for meetings and practice (including, perhaps, suggesting that he participate in unsupervised summer practice) and, for example, even when, how much time, and what type of exercises he needs to do in the weight room, is this not further evidence of supervising and directing job performance?

It'll be interesting to see what the NLRB has to say about all this. I'm not saying that the NU players will gain recognition as a union --- I don't, at least not at this point. But the findings that issue from those proceedings will provide a blueprint for what both parties will need to do in the future to either gain or fend off recognition. Directing players toward and away from certain majors will be an important factor in all this, IMO.

AlwaysBlue

February 2nd, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^

I'm not so intuitive as to know what school he'll choose.  As a life long Michigan fan though I may relate some to the parents.  And to the degree that's true, if the writing is on the wall that he's not interested in Michigan I can see them pushing him toward FSU as a way to soften the blow.

UMxWolverines

February 2nd, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

Also considering the party atmosphere at State, hasn't the quality gone down pretty quick? At least that's what I've heard. I've heard it's nothing like it used to be. 

sj

February 2nd, 2014 at 4:53 PM ^

I read this as though he has decided on MSU and his parents are disappointed. "You’ve got to open up and not be so stuck with Michigan State that you’re not even seeing anything else” is what you say about someone who is not seeing anything else.  He will choose which scholarship offer to accept, not his parents. 

Furthermore, this is totally messed up of his parents. You don't insult your kid's decision-making to the press. Keep it in the family. The whole article made McDowell sound like a child who wants to party. Even if that's true, his parents should not harm his reputation by saying that in public.  

BlueCube

February 3rd, 2014 at 9:28 AM ^

I noticed the other day that Malik's mother was not at the house when MSU was there. I thought it was kind of strange at this point in the process. Maize N Brew had the answer in an article by Anthony Mammel. Link

 

Apparently Malik's mother hates MSU so much she refused to meet with them. While Anthony felt that may favor FSU, I have also heard that Malik's father thinks Malik will stay closer to home to make it easier for his grandparents to see him play.

We will see soon. It seems like their may be a number of things going in Michigan's favor. I am still worried about Ohio State making the late run.