When Malik McDowell announced at a news conference on signing day that he would attend Michigan State, it was great news for the Spartans. The coaching staff celebrated in East Lansing.
But, of course, McDowell's letter of intent never made it to the school. The Southfield, Mich., defensive end -- ESPN Recruiting Nation's No. 60 overall player in the Class of 2014 -- has yet to actually sign with anybody, and the saga appears to be far from over.
McDowell's father, Greg, told Rivals' Josh Hemholdt on Monday that the family plans to take unofficial visits to Florida State and Ohio State in the near future. He also said that Michigan remains in the picture.
"We plan on doing some unofficials and see if he and his mom can resolve this," Greg McDowell said. "It's possible she'll be open to Michigan State as well, so we'll have to see."
Malik McDowell wants to go to Michigan State, but his mother is against the choice. His parents have said they would like to see their son attend college out of state.
Prospects have until April 1 to sign a letter of intent with a school. McDowell is under no obligation to sign a letter of intent, however, and in fact more players of his stature should probably avoid it. Those who bind themselves to a letter of intent must sit out a year if they decide to transfer at any time after signing. The Big Ten requires that players sign a league tender in order to receive financial aid, but there are no transfer penalties until after a player's second semester, provided he does not transfer within the conference. But McDowell would need one of his parents to sign a Big Ten tender since he is under 21. The Detroit Free Press' Joe Rexrode lays out McDowell's options here.
There's clearly some family drama going on here that may take a while to resolve. Three Big Ten schools continue to hope it works out in their favor.
