Cade McDonald

#15 · WR · Sr. · Miami (OH)5′11″ · 195 lb · Naperville, IL

Cade McDonald: WR · Miami (OH) · #15.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Jalon CalhounDuke · 2021 · 90% season match
Brock SpaldingEast Carolina · 2025 · 86% season match
Bo MeltonRutgers · 2021 · 85% season match
Barion BrownKentucky · 2024 · 85% season match
Thayer ThomasNC State · 2022 · 84% season match

Cade McDonald

WR · Miami (OH) · Sr · #15

Wins underneath on volume and route precision. Played for two head coaches across five seasons and two programs. The first one came in 2023: All-MAC. A game that shows it: 135 receiving yards and 8 receptions against Cincinnati — Week 3, 2024.

Style of play

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2024	Miami (OH)	52	631	12.1	3	51
2023	Miami (OH)	28	355	12.7	3	42
2022	Michigan State	3	31	10.3	0	15
2021	Michigan State	--	--	--	--	--
2020	Michigan State	2	15	7.5	0	8
Career		85	1,032	12.1	6	51

Season	Team
2024	Miami (OH)	1	7	82
2023	Miami (OH)	2	8	229
2022	Michigan State	--	--	44
2021	Michigan State	--	--	−1
2020	Michigan State	--	--	--
Career		3	15	354

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	L 6-13vs Northwestern	8	105	13.1	0	24
Wk 3	L 16-27vs Cincinnati	8	135	16.9	1	51	Season-high 135 yds
Wk 4	L 3-28@ No. 17 Notre Dame	4	52	13.0	0	21
Wk 5	W 23-20vs Massachusetts	4	36	9.0	0	17
Wk 6	L 20-30@ Toledo	5	54	10.8	0	16
Wk 7	W 38-14@ Eastern Michigan	1	0	0.0	0	0
Wk 8	W 30-20vs Ohio	5	84	16.8	1	32
Wk 9	W 46-7vs Central Michigan	3	41	13.7	0	20
Wk 14	W 28-12@ Bowling Green	9	82	9.1	1	30
Wk 15	L 3-38vs Ohio	2	17	8.5	0	14
Bowl	W 43-17vs Colorado State	3	25	8.3	0	14
Total		52	631	12.1	3	51

Signature game

Week 3 · 2024

L 16-27

vs Cincinnati

8 rec · 135 yds · 1 TD

With B. Gabbert — 339 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 43.5 · A. Bevelhimer — -16 rush yds (1 car)

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 1 · Northwestern · 3rd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +3.59Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 23 yds to the NU 38 for a
Week 1 · Northwestern · 3rd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +3.19Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 18 yds to the NU 47 for a
Week 3 · Cincinnati · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.02Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 51 yds to the CIN 18 for a
Week 14 · Bowling Green · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.81Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 30 yds for a TD (Dom Dzioban KICK)
Week 8 · Ohio · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.76Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 28 yds for a TD (Dom Dzioban KICK)
Week 9 · Central Michigan · 2nd and 13 · Q2 · EPA +2.73Henry Hesson pass complete to Cade McDonald for 15 yds to the CMU 47 for a

4 more plays

Week 3 · Cincinnati · 2nd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.61Gabbert to McDonald: a 7-yard pass.
Week 6 · Toledo · 3rd and 6 · Q4 · EPA +2.41Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 9 yds to the TOL 48 for a
Week 15 · Ohio · 2nd and 11 · Q4 · EPA +2.19Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 14 yds to the OHIO 38 for a
Week 8 · Ohio · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.14Brett Gabbert pass complete to Cade McDonald for 32 yds to the OHIO 30 for a

Teams and coaches

2020Michigan State2-5HC: Mel Tucker · Balanced

2021Michigan State11-2HC: Mel Tucker · Run-leaning

2022Michigan State5-7HC: Mel Tucker · Balanced

2023Miami (OH)11-3HC: Chuck Martin · Run-heavy, slow tempo

2024Miami (OH)9-5HC: Chuck Martin · Balanced, slow tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 56 (#157 of 466). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2024 season

56Quality starter #157 of 466 · 2024?

13 metrics · season cumulative

2024 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: receptions (81st percentile). Concern: td rate (28th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#254 / 610 · 58th pct

12.5

Explosive rate#270 / 610 · 56th pct

15.5%

EPA / target#403 / 610 · 34th pct

0.73

Catch rate#409 / 610 · 33rd pct

86.2%

TD rate#438 / 610 · 28th pct

3.4%

Box-score rates (8)

Receptions#101 / 541 · 81st pct

Rec yards#143 / 541 · 74th pct

631

Rec TDs#193 / 541 · 57th pct

Long catch#244 / 541 · 54th pct

Rush TDs#55 / 299 · 41st pct

Yards / catch#334 / 541 · 38th pct

12.1

Rush yards#184 / 299 · 37th pct

Fumbles lost#197 / 221 · 7th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

21st → 34th percentile

Explosive rate

42nd → 56th percentile

Catch rate

8th → 33rd percentile

TD rate

22nd → 28th percentile

Yards / catch

60th → 58th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2024. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2024 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home4g	5.0	74.0	14.1	0.5
Road4g	4.8	47.0	8.2	0.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	4.7	58.1	10.2	0.1
Weeks 8+4g	4.8	56.0	12.0	0.5

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2024 season

Head Coach

Chuck Martin

Pass share

49.9%

398 pass / 400 run

Plays / game

57.0

14 games

Team sack rate

5.9%

410 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

52 catches and 1 carry in 11 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

56 · #157 of 466 WRs · 2024

Cade McDonald

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

52 catches and 1 carry in 11 games

Six seasons, two schools

2023 13 games