Before Michigan State began its 2016 season, defensive lineman Malik McDowell said that he would not leave school after his junior season unless he was projected to be one of the top three picks in the 2017 NFL Draft.
McDowell has either heard something very good about where he will come off the board next year or he has decided that his status as one of the top defensive players in the country was enough to make foregoing his senior year worthwhile. McDowell announced that he will not return to East Lansing for another season on Tuesday.
“This was a difficult decision and I will always cherish my time in East Lansing. ... I’m ready to fulfill my childhood dream of playing in the NFL,” McDowell wrote on Twitter.
McDowell missed the last three games of the Spartans’ disappointing season with an ankle injury, although that hasn’t seemed to impact his rankings on the many draft projections that populate the landscape. He’s generally regarded as a first-round pick in those projections, which would continue a string that’s seen at least one Michigan State player go on the first day of the draft in each of the last three years.