Will McDonald: DE · Iowa State · #9.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Will McDonald
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come. Fifth year in the Iowa State defensive front. On tape: 5 tackles against Oklahoma, Week 9, 2022.
Play style
Collapses the pocket even when the sack doesn't come.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
36 tackles. 4 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 7.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
FOX61 Oct 28
The Des Moines Register Oct 23
Arizona Daily Star Oct 22
Wide Right & Natty Lite Oct 16Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Iowa State | 36 | 23 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 4 |
| 2021 | Iowa State | 36 | 24 | 13.0 | 11.5 | 2 |
| 2020 | Iowa State | 33 | 18 | 13.0 | 10.0 | 1 |
| 2019 | Iowa State | 15 | 10 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -- |
| 2018 | Iowa State | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- |
| Career | 123 | 78 | 40.5 | 33.5 | 7 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2022 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-10vs Southeast Missouri State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 10-7@ Iowa | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 43-10vs Ohio | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-31vs No. 17 Baylor | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 11-14@ Kansas | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 9-10vs No. 20 Kansas State | 4 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 7 | L 21-24@ No. 22 Texas | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 13-27vs Oklahoma | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 31-14vs West Virginia | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | L 14-20@ Oklahoma State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 10-14vs Texas Tech | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 14-62@ No. 4 TCU | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 36 | 23 | 7.5 | 5.0 | — | 4 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
14%5 sacksTFL rate
21%8 TFLHurry rate
19%7 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
42%5 of 12 pressures36 tackles · 7.5 for loss · 5 sacks.
5 seasons under Matt Campbell — 35-28 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2022 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| Road5g | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Pass share
55.3%
478 pass / 387 run
Plays / game
72.1
12 games
Team sack rate
5.6%
504 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2022
36 tackles in 12 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive lineman who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #50 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Iowa State, 34 sacks — drafted at #15 overall by the New York Jets.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2022
1 coachPlayed every college season under Matt Campbell.
Next stop · NFL
New York JetsEntering 4th NFL season
New York JetsEntering 4th NFL season
