A top-50 high school recruit from Detroit, McDowell joined the Spartans’ roster in 2014, where he played in all 13 games.

In the Spartans’ College Football Playoff run during the 2015 season, McDowell ended his sophomore season second among Spartan defensive lineman with 41 tackles, second on the team in tackles for loss with 13 for 54 yards and was third in sacks with 4.5 for a loss of 38 yards.

The Detroit native was also named recipient of the team’s Outstanding Underclass Lineman Award on defense.

In his final season at MSU, McDowell led the Spartan defensive line with 34 tackles, including a team-high seven tackles for losses in nine games.

McDowell started in eight games in his junior campaign before an ankle injury deterred his season.

Despite the injury, McDowell was given second-team All-American honors by CBS Sports and SI.com in addition to being selected first-team All-Big Ten by The Associated Press and Phil Steele.

In December, the 6-foot-6, 295 pound defensive lineman opted to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.

For the first time since 2013, MSU did not have a player go in the first round of the NFL draft. It broke a streak of three straight years a Spartan was taken in the first day of the draft.