Scouting Report: Malik McDowell

Submitted by Magnus on

I did this week's scouting report on Southfield (MI) Southfield defensive lineman Malik McDowell. It might seem a little late in the process to do this, but I hadn't seen good video on McDowell throughout the recruiting cycle. The film from Loyola was minimal and from poor angles, so I had a hard time drawing many conclusions. Now he has a full highlight video on Hudl (from a good angle!), and regardless, he looks to have significantly improved.

http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/12/scouting-report-malik-mcdowe…

dinsdale613

December 12th, 2013 at 7:53 AM ^

It seems like people are bracing themselves for the first with McDowell.  In fact it seems like many people have already written it off, and that might be the case,  I think however, that it is just as likely that this is just a kid who is set on following a more traditional timeline for his recruiting.  He and his family are doing their due diligence and seeing every thing they can.  The excelerated pace of recruiting under Hoke has spoiled us a bit and made us impatient as a fan base.

MGoManBall

December 12th, 2013 at 8:24 AM ^

I think your last sentence makes a very good point. We've become accustomed to having most of the class wrapped up months before NSD. 

I mean, if a player knows what he wants and commits a year or two or three before he signs, fine. But at the same time, this is a decision that is going to impact a player for the next four years and for the rest of his life. If he wants to take his time and make the right decision on NSD, then I applaud him for it. 

Blue in Denver

December 12th, 2013 at 3:05 PM ^

I desperately hope you're right.  I'm one of the many bracing for the worst.  I believe this is 70% simply momentum of a miserable second half of the season and 30% because I really do have a LOT less confidence in alleged "locks" that don't pull the trigger.

In my malaise I had not even considered that perhaps he's just following the conventional timeline.  Thanks.  You're a saint!

Of course if it turns out my fears are justified I'll just be that much more crushed.  Drat.  Maybe you're the devil.  

Edit:  Sorry.  Meant to reply to Dinsdale613

LSAClassOf2000

December 12th, 2013 at 8:04 AM ^

I didn't even really think about it before until Hageman was brought up in the article, but most defensive tackles are indeed several inches shorter than McDowell. That being said, he has been pretty effective for Minnesota in the last couple season and it would be nice to have that sort of size and speed up front. 

Thanks for sharing, Magnus. 

BubbaT33

December 12th, 2013 at 8:36 AM ^

Based on the video from Magnus, I would have to say he really is not ready yet!  He may get there . . . but he looks pretty 'raw'.  Has anyone done a good personal interview?  Talking to a guy like that (or his coach) we could learn a lot more.  Are our coaches really 'hot on his trail'?  That would tell us a lot more about how they feel!

Magnus

December 12th, 2013 at 8:38 AM ^

I think he would probably start out as a defensive end, eventually growing into a defensive tackle. If he came to Michigan, I would imagine he would start off at #3 on the depth chart and potentially work his way up, kind of like Ojemudia, Charlton, etc. I don't see him redshirting, but I don't see him being a stud right off the bat, either.

Hail-Storm

December 12th, 2013 at 8:59 AM ^

I am still trying to figure out the nuances, but he is very tall and has decent speed, so it'd seem like he'd play well in a 3 tech or SDE like VanBergen. Maybe I'm way off, but at that weight and height, it'd seem like a penetrator/contain guy, not someone who can hold up to any doubles or two gap guys. I don't know how it all works though. 

Magnus

December 12th, 2013 at 9:35 AM ^

At that weight, I think he'll be an SDE. But as he adds weight, I think he'll become more of a 3-tech type. The 3-tech position does not face many double-teams, so I don't think that would be a problem. As long as he can beat an OG or OT one-on-one, he should be okay.

denardogasm

December 12th, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^

I still feel like we're not going to get nearly as much out of Beyer at SDE as we will at LB though. It's going to be another Craig Roh situation I think. He was solid, but it seemed like he put on so much weight to be a reasonable SDE that he lost a lot o what made him good. It just wasn't a natural weight for him. I just want a hoss over there.

Magnus

December 12th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^

Someone who plays as much as Beyer should have more than 22 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks, which were his stats during the regular season, IIRC. I was pretty high on Beyer coming out of high school, but I think he's ideally a backup at any possible position (SAM, WDE, or SDE).

denardogasm

December 12th, 2013 at 10:38 AM ^

Everyone keeps saying this about Beyer but I just don't know why they would keep him there. If we're trying to get bigger on defense and get the best 11 on the field I think he fits better as the backup for Ryan with Wormley at SDE. Wormley was really coming on in the second half of the season and I think he'll make a jump next year.

Magnus

December 12th, 2013 at 11:01 AM ^

I agree about Beyer. He was 250 lbs. this year. I don't know if he can bulk up to be an SDE between now and then. Roh was 250 at one time, too, but he was 269 lbs. as a WDE before bulking up to 280 as a senior. Beyer would need to add about 30 lbs. in one year to get to that weight.

AA2Denver

December 12th, 2013 at 10:44 AM ^

Thanks, Magnus. 

Earlier in the season a coach from an opposing team of Southfield mentioned Marshall as being a great player, etc. At the time I found it interesting that Marshall was mentioned specifically and McDowell was not. Was it just a case of Marshall having a great game or is it possible that Marshall is at least as good or better a prospect?  I bring this up because I think folks are forgetting that Marshall is a very good player (a flip from OSU) and missing out on McDowell is not the world. 

Magnus

December 12th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^

I don't know who it was, the context, whether McDowell was injured, whether the other team blocked Marshall at all, etc. I can't really comment on that.

What I will say is that both players have been scouted heavily by the recruiting services, and McDowell is ranked higher by every one of the services - usually by a large margin. I like McDowell more based on what I've seen, too.

Bambi

December 12th, 2013 at 11:04 AM ^

I really hope we are still the favorites. A D-line class with him, Marshall, Palante and Mone would be fantastic, but if Saban were to leave and we could somehow get Hand, that would rival OSU's class of Spence, Washington and Schutt from a few years ago.

MGoStrength

December 12th, 2013 at 12:25 PM ^

The more I see of Malik the more I like him.  For whatever reason I wasn't as excited on him last summer...maybe I was too enthralled by Hand.  But, with Hand now off the board IMO Malik is super important to this class.  Also, although we've been in the running and even landed one replacement from top national kids (Peppers & Hand) it would still sting a bit if UM missed out on the states top 2 players (Webb & McDowell).