Michigan State DT Malik McDowell heading to NFL

Michigan State defensive tackle Malik McDowell won’t be returning to East Lansing, Mich., for his senior year. He’s heading to the NFL.

McDowell posted his intentions to Twitter on Tuesday.

McDowell had 34 total tackles in 2016 and seven tackles for loss in nine games. He missed three games because of an ankle injury though was still a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the conference’s coaches.

[Check out Dr. Saturday on Tumblr for entertaining things you won’t see on the blog]

His statistics were a good per-game follow to a monster sophomore campaign that included 41 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and an interception that was returned for a touchdown in 14 games.

A former five-star recruit, McDowell’s recruitment was one of the biggest stories of National Signing Day in 2014. He initially signed with the Spartans against his parents’ wishes as his mother said she had a “bad experience” at Michigan State during McDowell’s recruitment. She finally acquiesced to his decision to join the team later that spring.

McDowell will likely be an early pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

[Visit Dr. Saturday on Facebook for stories you might have missed and chat with the writers]

– – – – – – –

Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @NickBromberg