Breaking down Penn State Football’s safety room with Ji’Ayir Brown back

Looking outside the program

Michael Dowell – Michigan State

Michael Dowell entered the transfer portal after the regular season with Michigan State and is looking for a new home. Penn State Football could make a lot of sense and could use Dowell’s experience after playing in the Big Ten the last four years.

Dowell has 82 tackles, including two and a half tackles for a loss, five pass break-ups and a fumble recovery in 32 career games with six starts for the Spartans.

The Ohio native was a three star recruit according to 247sports coming out of high school, and despite being recruited by defensive backs coach Terry Smith, he was not offered by Penn State Football.

We have seen head coach James Franklin look for players he has previous relationships within the transfer portal, whether it was players he offered out of high school or had at camps and did recruit, much like defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo this past season.

Dowell has proven he can play at this level and has a familiarity with not just the Big Ten, but the Big Ten East specifically. He is the top-ranked safety in the 247sports transfer portal currently, so this would be potentially huge get for James Franklin and Manny Diaz.