Niyo: Maturing McDowell ready to take next step for MSU

Starting quarterback Connor Cook is swarmed by reportersEast Lansing — Shilique Calhoun laughs and says he doesn't remember it. Malik McDowell winces and insists he has no choice.

And hearing all this, Michigan State's defensive line coach, Ron Burton, can't help but chuckle.

"You never forget those days," Burton said. "You never forget something like that."

Not now, and certainly not then, as McDowell arrived in East Lansing last summer with great expectations. He was the state's top-rated prospect, a five-star defensive lineman whose overwrought recruiting saga only added to the hype.

"But then I met Jack Allen," McDowell said. "And he whooped on me."

Only "for a minute," McDowell quickly…