From one good family to another: Benny McGowan joins Mark Dantonio's Michigan State football class of 2012

 Benny McGowan is a big kid. Standing at a robust 6-foot-4 and weighing 300 pounds, he is Michigan State’s newest addition in the recruiting class of

 

Benny McGowan is a big kid.

Standing at a robust 6-foot-4 and weighing 300 pounds, he is Michigan State’s newest addition in the recruiting class of 2012. The offensive guard was offered scholarships at other big universities like Iowa and UCLA, but once the native Ohioan visited East Lansing and found out what it felt like to be a Spartan, his made was almost immediately decided.

“When I got there I went in and met with some of the coaches, talked to some of them and … I just love all the coaches, love the personalities of everyone,” McGowan said. “And then we took a tour of the facilities, everything was really impressive. We went to lunch and I called my high school coach and said, “I really like it up here.” He wanted me to talk to him first before I made any decision, he said if I felt right (about the situation) to go forward and commit. Right before we went to the spring game, I told coach (Harlon) Barnett I wanted to be a Spartan.”

Sometimes it can be tough for a high school junior to be bombarded with scholarship offers and be the focus of national attention. People forget that many of these talented, young athletes are not even 18 years old when they commit to a program. A committal instantly becomes a life-changing decision not only in terms of playing football at the collegiate level, but also because these student-athletes are aiming to get a degree at esteemed place of higher learning.

McGowan seems like a different type of high school star, though. He has said that he doesn’t want to feel entitled by receiving a free education, and that thought pattern was instilled to him from his family. He learned to be humble from many people, but anybody who knows him will say his mother is his greatest teacher. The lessons continue to come as he approaches a new life away from home.

“I have always told (Benny) you have to be honest, you have to have integrity and insight, and if you’re gonna do it you have to do it well,” said Benny’s loving mother, Tracy McGowan. “He has the meanness on the field, but other than that he is the most humble boy you will ever meet.

“I just want to totally thank (MSU’s coaching staff), hug them, shake their hands for giving my son an awesome opportunity. I have been very blessed and God has answered my prayers. I’m just a mom who has tried to raise an awesome kid.”

Speaking of coaches, Benny has said that coach Mark Dantonio admitted he was surprised at how swift Benny made a decision regarding his football-playing future in college. McGowan also enjoyed meeting offensive line coach Mark Staten, saying that Staten will surely help improve his game and be a good coach for him.

Time really flies for talented high school athletes who are hand-picked by scouts and coaches to join their programs. It comes full circle for these kids, who start out playing in youth leagues and then start to notice as they get older that a future in their prospective sport can be everything they have dreamed.

But in the end, it always comes back to the people closest to you and how these role models helped shape your character.

“(Benny) said, ‘Mom, I felt it in my heart and this is where I want to be.’ And I said, ‘Will you be happy?’ and he said, “Yes, ma’am.’ I said, ‘Go green.’”

And just like that, a mother and son made a huge decision, which impacted both of their lives. The mother now gets to enjoy watching her son play in front of tens of thousands of people at Spartan Stadium and beyond, and Benny gets to run out of the tunnel and fulfill castles in the sky from his childhood.

Times are changing for the McGowan family. Benny and his mom are doing things their way and using one another as sources of guidance and inspiration, and a real family doesn’t get any better than that.