What's the deal with Malik

Lots of smoke around his situation but nothing from Coach D. In addition to some good sources on "message boards", I've talked to others in the know. They all say he is done at MSU.

It's apparently not about an injury. So why is he on the sidelines and not dressed? I don't get it.

I think he's "hurt".

He's our Jadeveon Clowney now.

Attitude issue? Selfishness? Mother involved again??

Could be anything.

Vlad wrote:Attitude issue? Selfishness? Mother involved again??

Could be anything.

You forgot he is black, David.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:I think he's "hurt".

Seems like he got "hurt" about twice every game. Maybe it caught up to him.

duffy munn wrote:

Vlad wrote:Attitude issue? Selfishness? Mother involved again??

Could be anything.

You forgot he is black, David.

A lot of our players are black, I think.

DWags wrote:You need to go to class to be a sturdent

I get this part Dwags. So why nothing from Coach D? Why is he still on the sidelines? Is he part of this team or not?

What's the deal with Ovaltine?

Called it nigel

Meh. He sits out a game and we win 49-0

next

duffy munn wrote:

DWags wrote:You need to go to class to be a sturdent

I get this part Dwags. So why nothing from Coach D? Why is he still on the sidelines? Is he part of this team or not?

Dantonio is in a helluva spot.
He doesn't want to hang McDowell out to dry in public whatever the reasons for sitting him.
Roll back 3 1/2 years and McDowell was getting squeezed to sign with any school except MSU. Literally at the 11th hour Dantonio's office gets McDowell's signed LOI with less than 6-8 hours to spare. He wanted to play in EL.

Now this team is 3-7 and going nowhere. McDowell has been the target of cheap shots / abuse from opposing teams every game he's played and he' might be seeing it as hurting his draft status. If McDowell sits the rest of the season with vague injury talk I'm guessing Dantonio has told him privately any NFL teams who inquire about his work ethic will hear about his bailing on classes this fall but he won't say anything until after the season, if ever. Keeping things inhouse means Dantonio is living up to his word with respect to what he tells incomng recruits.

At this pont, good does it do anyone to make a big deal about it? Not MSU, not McDowell. The coachng staff knows whats up about going to class and his teammates have figured it out. Maybe McDowell slips out of the Top 15 in the '17 draft but with his measurables and a decent combine that's doubtful. Then with the NFL's rookie salary structure everyone is in it for their 2nd contract for the big reward.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Called it nigel

#TeamMalik?

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2016/11/michigan_state_ol_tyler_higby.html#incart_river_index

"At least six other players missed the Rutgers game due to injury: cornerback Tyson Smith, defensive back Jalen Watts-Jackson, offensive lineman Thiyo Lukusa, linebacker Ed Davis, fullback Prescott line and defensive lineman Malik McDowell.."

Why any early entry first round draft pick would suit up for a team not going to a bowl game or playing to improve the bowl potential is beyond me.

GRR Spartan wrote:

duffy munn wrote:

I get this part Dwags. So why nothing from Coach D? Why is he still on the sidelines? Is he part of this team or not?

Dantonio is in a helluva spot.
He doesn't want to hang McDowell out to dry in public whatever the reasons for sitting him.
Roll back 3 1/2 years and McDowell was getting squeezed to sign with any school except MSU. Literally at the 11th hour Dantonio's office gets McDowell's signed LOI with less than 6-8 hours to spare. He wanted to play in EL.

Now this team is 3-7 and going nowhere. McDowell has been the target of cheap shots / abuse from opposing teams every game he's played and he' might be seeing it as hurting his draft status. If McDowell sits the rest of the season with vague injury talk I'm guessing Dantonio has told him privately any NFL teams who inquire about his work ethic will hear about his bailing on classes this fall but he won't say anything until after the season, if ever. Keeping things inhouse means Dantonio is living up to his word with respect to what he tells incomng recruits.

At this pont, good does it do anyone to make a big deal about it? Not MSU, not McDowell. The coachng staff knows whats up about going to class and his teammates have figured it out. Maybe McDowell slips out of the Top 15 in the '17 draft but with his measurables and a decent combine that's doubtful. Then with the NFL's rookie salary structure everyone is in it for their 2nd contract for the big reward.

This makes sense but I'm very surprised reporters don't even seem to be pushing the issue with pointed questions.

Dantonio does an unbelievable job of keeping things in-house. Hell, nobody even knows what happened with Max 3 years later. In today's social media world, that's incredible.

duffy munn wrote:

GRR Spartan wrote:

Dantonio is in a helluva spot.
He doesn't want to hang McDowell out to dry in public whatever the reasons for sitting him.
Roll back 3 1/2 years and McDowell was getting squeezed to sign with any school except MSU. Literally at the 11th hour Dantonio's office gets McDowell's signed LOI with less than 6-8 hours to spare. He wanted to play in EL.

Now this team is 3-7 and going nowhere. McDowell has been the target of cheap shots / abuse from opposing teams every game he's played and he' might be seeing it as hurting his draft status. If McDowell sits the rest of the season with vague injury talk I'm guessing Dantonio has told him privately any NFL teams who inquire about his work ethic will hear about his bailing on classes this fall but he won't say anything until after the season, if ever. Keeping things inhouse means Dantonio is living up to his word with respect to what he tells incomng recruits.

At this pont, good does it do anyone to make a big deal about it? Not MSU, not McDowell. The coachng staff knows whats up about going to class and his teammates have figured it out. Maybe McDowell slips out of the Top 15 in the '17 draft but with his measurables and a decent combine that's doubtful. Then with the NFL's rookie salary structure everyone is in it for their 2nd contract for the big reward.

This makes sense but I'm very surprised reporters don't even seem to be pushing the issue with pointed questions.

Dantonio does an unbelievable job of keeping things in-house. Hell, nobody even knows what happened with Max 3 years later. In today's social media world, that's incredible.

Based on the mlive article, it seems as if Malik is hurt.

DWags wrote:

NigelUno wrote:

Based on the mlive article, it seems as if Malik is hurt.

So was Charles Rogers.

If Dantonio said he was injured (and I don't know if he did), I'm not sure how a reporter would go about asking if he wasn't really injured.

If he's on the sideline, I would guess he's still on the team (regardless of speculation about why he's not playing).

DWags wrote:

NigelUno wrote:

Based on the mlive article, it seems as if Malik is hurt.

So was Charles Rogers.

And this is where the Malik situation is most damning. I'm not saying MM will flame out ( no pun intended) in the NFL but the similarities to the end of his college careers are certainly striking.

Competitors never ask out of games. At any level. For any reason.

NigelUno wrote:

DWags wrote:

So was Charles Rogers.

If Dantonio said he was injured (and I don't know if he did), I'm not sure how a reporter would go about asking if he wasn't really injured.

If he's on the sideline, I would guess he's still on the team (regardless of speculation about why he's not playing).

It's the job of a reporter to dig a little deeper. That said, Coach D has proven to be s stone wall when it comes to internal issues with his football team.

duffy munn wrote:

DWags wrote:

So was Charles Rogers.

And this is where the Malik situation is most damning. I'm not saying MM will flame out ( no pun intended) in the NFL but the similarities to the end of his college careers are certainly striking.

Competitors never ask out of games. At any level. For any reason.

I think he wanted to go back into the game at Illinois (after he was hurt or "hurt"). Honestly, it has seemed that he has missed plays all season.

kingstonlake wrote:Why any early entry first round draft pick would suit up for a team not going to a bowl game or playing to improve the bowl potential is beyond me.

It's called being a good teammate and a competitor.

duffy munn wrote:

NigelUno wrote:

If Dantonio said he was injured (and I don't know if he did), I'm not sure how a reporter would go about asking if he wasn't really injured.

If he's on the sideline, I would guess he's still on the team (regardless of speculation about why he's not playing).

It's the job of a reporter to dig a little deeper. That said, Coach D has proven to be s stone wall when it comes to internal issues with his football team.

Sure. But, he appeared to get injured in the Illinois game. I doubt Dantonio is going to go public with any other reason why he's not playing. If he was taking plays off and pointing fingers (as some people implied), then that's kind of at odds. I can see a coach (and teammates) having an issue with that. That's all speculation of course.

DWags wrote:

NigelUno wrote:

If Dantonio said he was injured (and I don't know if he did), I'm not sure how a reporter would go about asking if he wasn't really injured.  

If he's on the sideline, I would guess he's still on the team (regardless of speculation about why he's not playing).  
 

 

I just think a staff gets tired of having game stoppage twice a game. Not saying he wasn't or isn't hurt, but maybe just finally saying "take a week off till we can clear it up"

Oh, and by the by, when you come back how about keeping gap integrity following the play call not trying to do things on your own and teaching the young guys bad habits

That's a good point.  I think we have too many guys just chasing the ball.  When we played a team a few weeks back, that team seemed to do a better job not biting on fakes.

And I got frustrated watching Malik. He got hurt every game (and was taking plays off). I can only imagine how frustrated that would make a coach.

I'm sure he's actually dinged up, probably has multiple dings. He may just not be as motivated as other guys to fight through them right now.

Death Roe compared it to Clowney's last season.

McDowell isn't SEC minimum but he knows where his future earning power is coming from and it isn't going to be after he completes post graduate work like Scapinato planned.

Not attending classes is cut and dry. You are either there, turning in work, passing tests and getting at least a 2.0 or you aren't.

Its a fine line with injuries. I think his got injuries. The decision to sit or play through are between the player and medical.

GRR Spartan wrote:Death Roe compared it to Clowney's last season.

McDowell isn't SEC minimum but he knows where his future earning power is coming from and it isn't going to be after he completes post graduate work like Scapinato planned.

Not attending classes is cut and dry. You are either there, turning in work, passing tests and getting at least a 2.0 or you aren't.

Its a fine line with injuries. I think his got injuries. The decision to sit or play through are between the player and medical.

Are you calling me wrong with correlating the two in some way?

I mean, it's pretty similar. Only thing missing is a coach who isn't as transparent as Spurrier was. He was pretty public about Clowney sitting.

Death Roe wrote:

GRR Spartan wrote:Death Roe compared it to Clowney's last season.

McDowell isn't SEC minimum but he knows where his future earning power is coming from and it isn't going to be after he completes post graduate work like Scapinato planned.

Not attending classes is cut and dry. You are either there, turning in work, passing tests and getting at least a 2.0 or you aren't.

Its a fine line with injuries. I think his got injuries. The decision to sit or play through are between the player and medical.

Are you calling me wrong with correlating the two in some way?

I mean, it's pretty similar. Only thing missing is a coach who isn't as transparent as Spurrier was. He was pretty public about Clowney sitting.

I think he called you yella.

I don't "call people out".

I see similarities between McDowell and Clowney from afar.

I also see what a witches brew of complications it brings to coaching and what team medical personnel can or can't say.

he gone.

(after this year.. he's not gone now. I'm not even sure where he's at right now).

duffy munn wrote:

NigelUno wrote:

If Dantonio said he was injured (and I don't know if he did), I'm not sure how a reporter would go about asking if he wasn't really injured.

If he's on the sideline, I would guess he's still on the team (regardless of speculation about why he's not playing).

It's the job of a reporter to dig a little deeper. That said, Coach D has proven to be s stone wall when it comes to internal issues with his football team.

Reporter responsibility? You are living in the distant past.

Every reporter knows they are one meeting away from being replaced by a twenty something with a lap top and an internet connection.

Even the twenty somethings that populate MLive and 247's reporter pool.

duffy munn wrote:

kingstonlake wrote:Why any early entry first round draft pick would suit up for a team not going to a bowl game or playing to improve the bowl potential is beyond me.

It's called being a good teammate and a competitor.

Agreed. But it's also called being really bad at risk/reward analysis.

traditional journalism is dead.. you guys should know that. In fact, I'd argue that a schlep with a laptop and an internet connection is about as believable as a beat writer for the Freep and/or LSJ.

kingstonlake wrote:

duffy munn wrote:

It's called being a good teammate and a competitor.

Agreed. But it's also called being really bad at risk/reward analysis.

It's Malik's choice if he doesn't want to be out there. If I'm his teammate, I don't want him out there either.

And if I'm an NFL scout, I certainly take this into account on draft day.

duffy munn wrote:

kingstonlake wrote:

Agreed. But it's also called being really bad at risk/reward analysis.

It's Malik's choice if he doesn't want to be out there. If I'm his teammate, I don't want him out there either.

And if I'm an NFL scout, I certainly take this into account on draft day.

It didn't hurt Clowney.