The Iowa State Cyclones are undoubtedly a budding national power in terms of its college football program, and little by little, more and more of their alums are forging successful NFL careers.
One of the best recent examples is New York Jets edge rusher Will McDonald IV, who spent five years at Iowa State between 2018 and 2022 before being selected by the Jets with the 15th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
After a rather lackluster rookie campaign in which he logged 14 tackles and three sacks, McDonald broke out last season, racking up 28 tackles, 10.5 sacks and a couple of forced fumbles, looking a heck of a lot more like the player who terrorized the Big 12 for years.
McDonald definitely isn’t remaining complacent, though. He has been hard at work this offseason, and while his dominance at Jets organized team activities drew attention, something else caught everyone’s eye, as well: McDonald’s weight gain. In a positive sense.
New York head coach Aaron Glenn has revealed that McDonald has put on 15 pounds of muscle over the last several months, which is absolutely a major physical change that should help the 25-year-old when fighting through blockers next season.
McDonald had previously been listed at 236 pounds, which is certainly rather light for an edge rusher. The Pewaukee, Wi. native utilized his speed to burn offensive linemen in 2024, but perhaps McDonald will now be able to employ an even more lethal combination of speed and strength next fall.
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