Georgia Tech Reportedly Contacts Coastal Carolina Transfer Offensive Lineman Will McDonald
The spring transfer portal windown has been closed, but the players that were already in there can still make their choice on where to go next for their college career.
One of those players in Coastal Carolina offensive lineman Will McDonald, who was reportedly contacted by Georgia Tech according to On3 Sports Pete Nakos. Now, it is tough to say the level of interest based off of this, but I do think it is interesting. Nakos mentioned that McDonald is set to visit Cal and is also drawing interest from UCF and Arkansas.
Coastal Carolina offensive lineman Will McDonald tells @On3sports he's visiting Cal this week.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) May 15, 2024
The All-Sun Belt selection has started 26 career games. The left guard has also been in contact with Arkansas, Georgia Tech and UCF.
Read: https://t.co/6TS2VxCC5U pic.twitter.com/QFwsnIjQLZ
Georgia Tech has added one offensive lineman through the transfer portal during this spring window, bringing in Kentucky's Nick Pearson. The Yellow Jackets have been more defensive-focused in terms of bringing in transfers through the portal, but they are still adding depth to one of the ACC's best offensive lines.
McDonald is a grad transfer with one year of eligibility left and he has played 1,640 snaps in his career. He was a Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team selection heading into the 2023 season. He finished as a third-team All-Sun Belt offensive lineman. He played left guard for Coastal Carolina and only allowed three sacks on 823 career pass-blocking snaps
More on McDonald from goccusports.com:
2023 (Redshirt Senior)
- Was named to the 2023 Preseason All-Sun Belt second team
- Earned a spot on the 2023 Phil Steele Preseason Sun Belt Conference All-Conference third team
- Named to the 2023 Athlon Sports Preseason All-Sun Belt third team
- Was named to the 2023 Pro Football Focus (PFF) College preseason All-Sun Belt third team
- Earned a spot on the 2023 College Football Network Preseason All-Sun Belt honorable mention
- 2023 All-Sun Belt Third Team selection
- Started at 13 games at left guard
- Protected four different quarterbacks over the course of the season
- Helped Coastal rank 24th nationally in sacks allowed
- Offense ranked ranked first in the Sun Belt in passing yards per attempt (8.49) and third in yards per play (6.33) and sacks allowed (16)
- Helped Grayson McCall become Coastal Carolina's career leader in passing yards
- Paved way for Chants to run for season-high 278 yards against Old Dominion (Nov. 4)
- Helped Coastal rack up season-high 569 yards of offense against Appalachian State (Oct. 10)
- Allowed Chants to possess the ball for season-high 37:16 in the 2023 EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl against San Jose State (Dec. 23)
- Part of unit that allowed Coastal to rush for season-high 7.00 yards per attempt against Army (Nov. 18)
- Helped Coastal average season-high 9.36 yards per play against Duquesne (Sept. 16)
2022 (Redshirt Junior)
- Played in and started all 13 games at left guard for the Chants' offensive line
- Blocked for three-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in quarterback Grayson McCall and was part of the offensive line that led the way for an offense that was among the league leaders in the Sun Belt
- Offense ranked second in the Sun Belt in completion percentage (65.7 percent), third in both third-down conversion percentage (42.8 percent) and first down offense (284), fourth in rushing offense (159.3 ypg), and fifth in passing offense (246.2 ypg) and in total offense (405.5 ypg)
- Finished the season with over 30 knockdown blocks on the year
- Was the top-graded offensive lineman in two games - at Georgia State (Sept. 22) and versus Old Dominion (Oct. 15)
- Graded out at 85 percent or higher in eight of the 13 games on the year
- Graded out at 90 percent in the win at Georgia State and the victory at home over Appalachian State (Nov. 3)
- Recorded a season-high seven knockdown blocks in the loss to ODU
- Picked up five knockdown blocks in the season-opener versus Army (Sept. 3), in the home win over Georgia Southern (Oct. 1), and in the road win at Marshall (Oct. 29)
- Added three knockdown blocks in the home win over Gardner-Webb (Sept. 10) and in the 2022 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Football Championship game at Troy (Dec. 3)
- Registered a pancake block in all but one game on the season
2021 (Redshirt Sophomore)
- Saw action in 13 games on the season
- Primarily lined up on the field goal and extra-point units all season long
- Graded out as the top-graded offensive lineman in the home win over ULM (Oct. 2)
- Played a season-high 37 snaps on offense in the home win over UMass (Sept. 25)
- Logged 13 snaps on offense in the season-opening win over The Citadel (Sept. 2)
- Lined up on offense for 11 plays in the road win at Arkansas State (Oct. 7)
- Played one snap on the offensive line in the home win over Kansas (Sept. 10) and two snaps in the road win at Georgia Southern (Nov. 6)
2020 (Redshirt Freshman)
- Saw action in 10 games on the season
- Primarily lined up on the field goal and extra-point units all season long
- Was a part of the offensive line unit that was named a Joe Moore Award semifinalist, presented annually to the nation's top offensive line unit
- Played a season-high 16 snaps on offense in the blowout road win at Georgia State (Oct. 31)
- Lined up for 15 snaps and had one knockdown block in the road win at Texas State (Nov. 28)
- Graded out at 100 percent over five snaps at center in the home win over Arkansas State (Oct. 3)
- Also logged time on the offensive line versus Georgia Southern (Oct. 24) and South Alabama (Nov. 7)
2019 (Freshman)
- Redshirt season
- Played in the win over Norfolk State (Sept. 14)
- Lined up at center for 15 offensive snaps versus the Spartans, grading out at 92 percent
- Earned a spot on the Dean's List (3.25 GPA or higher) for the 2019 fall and 2020 spring semesters
High School
- Lettered in football at Porter Ridge High School for head coach Michael Hertz
- Team captain his senior year and a three-year starter upfront for the Pirates
- Played on both the offensive and defensive lines
- Totaled 172 pancake blocks over his 39 games on the offensive line for the Pirates
- Participated in the Blue-Grey All-American Combine in the spring of 2018 prior to his senior season
- Earned a spot on the 2017 Associated Press North Carolina All-State football team as a junior
- A two-time Southwestern 4A All-Conference first team selection (2017 and 2018) as an offensive lineman
- Also a two-time All-UCHSF first-team selection
- Anchored the offensive line to help lead the team to a 10-5 overall record and a spot in the 2018 North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4A state championship semifinals game
- Posted a season-high 13 pancake blocks in the quarterfinals of the state championship tournament versus West Mecklenburg
- Also recorded 14 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and 5.0 tackles-for-loss on the defensive line his senior year in 2018
- As a junior, he opened holes for two 1,000 yard rushers and blocked for 5,539 yards of offense and 56 touchdowns in 2017
- Blocked for the 2017 Southwestern 4A Player of the Year in quarterback Grayson McCall, now a teammate at Coastal, and the 2018 Southwestern 4A Player of the Year in running back Jaylen Coleman
JACKSON CAUDELL
Jackson Caudell covers Georgia Tech Athletics and the Atlanta Hawks for FanNation