Chris “Magnus” McDonald Enters Final College Game Against TCU Sentimental & Confident!

A Spartan football career is winding down for MSU offensive guard Chris “Magnus” McDonald. McDonald is ready to face off take on Texas Christian University

A Spartan football career is winding down for MSU offensive guard Chris “Magnus” McDonald. McDonald is ready to face off take on Texas Christian University (TCU) in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. Magnus shared his thoughts on playing his final game for the Spartans and much more with Hondo S. Carpenter, Sr. recently.

• When asked if the thought that this is his last game as a Spartan had crossed his mind, McDonald said: “It’s really crazy. I haven’t really been thinking about it. I know it’s going to hit me after the game.” Magnus will miss just about every aspect of being a Spartan, on and off the field. “Having that pre-game meal, wearing the Green and White, going out in Spartan Stadium, playing with these guys: it was a great opportunity for me and I’m really going to miss it,” the senior said. “I love these guys. They’re my brothers, this [team] is my family. [I’ll] always bleed green.”
• Though big offensive linemen are not typically known for being sentimental, McDonald is an exception. “I get emotional: it is a game of emotions. I think that’s an advantage for me,” he said. “I’m going to play my heart out [against TCU] and I think other guys on the team will do that. I think [against] Minnesota, we had a great game offensively and the guys on the O-line played for me. I think we had a great game. I know they’re going to do the same for me for this game.”
• In preparation for the Horned Frogs, the Spartan coaching staff has considered implementing some designed quarterback running plays into the game plan. As a veteran offensive lineman, McDonald trusts all of his coaches: “Any kind of advantage we can have is going to help us. I know the coaches are smart, so whatever they do, they wouldn’t do it for no reason. There’s got to be a reason.” The MSU coaching staff will have to devise a smart game plan on offense to beat TCU’s solid defense. Of TCU’s defensive unit, McDonald said: “They’re a good defense, but we have a good defense, too. It’s going to be a good game.”
• Before the start of the season, prognosticators had Michigan State competing for a Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl appearance. Unfortunately, fate would not have it, as the Spartans wound up with a bid to play in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against TCU. Regardless of the bowl’s name, Magnus realizes that a postseason appearance is always a bonus. He affirmed that he has talked to the younger players about holding their heads high and playing hard in this game. “I think throughout the year, when we started to lose, at first they were kind of disappointed. But we never strayed away from our goal and we just kept going after it, and I think our season shows that,” McDonald said. “There are a lot of teams that would be in our position and wouldn’t finish off with a bowl eligible season: they would go the opposite way. We’re not in the Rose Bowl, we’re not in the National Championship, but it’s going to be a great game, TCU is a great team. It’s going to be a program win for us.”