Will

McDonald IV

McDonald (6'4/230) could have declared for the NFL draft and would be a high defensive prospect with his pass-rushing ability. He will go down as one of the best defensive players in the school’s history as he is the all-time sack leader and his 11.5 sack this year is a single-season record.

McDonald (6'4/230) spent the majority of his redshirt season serving as a defensive end on the scout team, meaning that he’ll now have to get used to not having his hand in the ground as often. But that isn’t expected to be an issue for the highly athletic defender, who made Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks” list. “It was watching this guy with elite athleticism and wondering where does he fit?” Iowa State HC Matt Campbell told Cyclone Fanatic at the Big 12 Media Days. “What’s coming back? How can we continue to evolve defensively? One of the things that I looked at with our defense was, what are some of the areas that we can get better at? How and where does this guy’s skillset allow us to get better? I thought it was a perfect match.” Iowa State’s defense is a big reason why the Cyclones were picked to finish third in the Big 12’s preseason poll, and if McDonald can live up to the hype that goal is certainly attainable.

We’ve written about McDonald a lot lately, as he’s been named both a breakout player and listed in the “Freak List” by The Athletic over the past couple of weeks. The plaudits continue. “You won’t find many weak spots in the ISU defense, but the Clones are counting on McDonald, a redshirt freshman, to take over for Willie Harvey,” they write. That’s a lot of pressure, but McDonald (6'4/230) certainly has the athleticism to at least be a partial contributor for the 2019 Iowa State club.

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman leads off his annual “Freaks” list highlighting McDonald. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman excelled in both basketball and track back during his high school days in Wisconsin, winning a state title in discus while placing third in the high jump. On the basketball court, he averaged 18.3 PPG and 12.8 RPG. He did not take up football until his junior year. Feldman colleague Max Olson tagged McDonald as a potential breakout player for the fall earlier this offseason.

“The breakout candidate here is clearly Will McDonald,” Olson writes. “The freaky 6-4, 230-pound pass-rusher was able to redshirt last year but showed flashes of his big potential in limited snaps, including a strip sack against TCU.” McDonald is likely to line up at the SAM position in the defense, and Jon Heacock can deploy him in numerous ways to get to the quarterback. We’re certainly intrigued.