When Will McDonald chose Iowa State over Baylor and Minnesota, no one could have imagined what kind of potential star he would eventually become.
Though he redshirted as a freshman in 2018, he still managed to play minimally under the new NCAA rules and finished with three tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. He showed good burst on the defensive side of the ball and proved that he could play both defensive end and linebacker as a hybrid-type player.
Heading into the 2019 season as a redshirt freshman, his position is looking more like linebacker than anything else and it makes sense with his 230-pound frame — though he is a towering 6-foot-4.
Spring was kind to the second-year player who was named the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year in 2018 for the Cyclones and that just sets him up for a monster 2019 campaign as a backup to Jake Hummel. Heck, he could earn a starting job by the end of the season and he’s one of those guys who will soon become a household name in Ames.