Iowa State’s Will McDonald stands 1 sack shy of Big 12 record entering Oklahoma State game

AMES — Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald stands shoulder-to-shoulder with future NFL Hall of Famer Von Miller, even if it’s simply on a stat sheet.

McDonald and Miller own 33 career sacks, which is tied for second in Big 12 football history.

Both are versatile playmakers. And both are adept at forcing fumbles while twisting opposing quarterbacks into the turf.

But Miller — a two-time Super Bowl winner and current Buffalo Bill — is McDonald’s football idol for one overarching reason.

“Just his work ethic,” said McDonald, who will seek to create more havoc in the backfield at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Oklahoma State in Stillwater. “What he does and how he does it. I try to replicate him.”

He does it well at the collegiate level, at least.

Miller forced seven fumbles for Texas A&M from 2007-10. McDonald’s forced nine at ISU (4-5, 1-5) since bursting onto the scene in 2018. He’s almost a cinch to surpass Miller’s sacks total — and his next one will tie him for the conference record of 34 set by Texas Tech’s Aaron Hunt from 1999-2002.

But McDonald chose to return for one more season with the Cyclones for two important reasons: Becoming the first in his family to earn a college degree and proving he can shine against the run as well as the pass.

He’s already furnished ample evidence for the latter. Next month, the 6-foot-3, 238-pound senior will walk across a stage to clutch his diploma to attain the former.

“I think (he’s) just one of the most versatile players I’ve ever coached,” said ISU head coach Matt Campbell, whose team snapped a five-game skid with last week’s 31-14 win over West Virginia. “Will can play any of the linebacker positions. Probably could play middle safety to also having the ability to put his hand down and just be such a dominant football player on the edge of the defense.

“I think that’s why his ceiling is so high going forward. I think he’s got a chance to play football for a long time and do it at a high level.”

Just like Miller, who’s been a Pro Bowl selection eight times in his 11-plus seasons in the NFL. McDonald will get his chance to prove himself as a pro once the 2023 NFL Draft rolls around in April, but right now he’s focused on helping one of the nation’s top defenses shore up and enhance that position.

The Cyclones rank in the Top 10 nationally in scoring defense (16.3 points per game) and total defense (284.4 yards per game).

“You can’t just go into games thinking you’re gonna do what you do,” said McDonald, who has four sacks this season and a career-best three passes defended. “For us, as a defense, we take every game and every play as beating the man across from us. We win, we win. We lose, we lose. We’re gonna learn from every mistake.”

ISU’s miscues this season — particularly on offense and special teams — are well-documented, but the defense’s ability to keep the team in games until deep into the fourth quarter is just as well-established. If that continues Saturday and the offense builds off of last week’s turnover-free performance against the Mountaineers, the Cyclones may conjure up more success to learn from as the regular season winds down.

“There was a lot of good in (that) game but there’s still more we can fix, for sure,” ISU quarterback Hunter Dekkers said.

That’s always the case for McDonald, who didn’t start playing football until his junior year at Waukesha (Wis.) North High School. Hence Campbell’s comment about his sky-high ceiling. And hence McDonald’s commitment to constant learning — whether on the field, in the classroom, or studying Miller’s attributes on a TV screen.

“I watch all his games,” McDonald said. “I try to (model) my game after him because he’s a really good player. That’s what I’ll be happy about, that I was able to get to his level and I can be able to do bigger things than that.”

How big, potentially?

“He’s really made himself into maybe one of the most coveted defensive players going forward as we get closer to the NFL Draft,” Campbell said.

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