Get to Know Your Orange Man: #81, LB Derek McDonald

Up next in our Syracuse Orange roster preview, we have a fellow member of the Newhouse Mafia...

Name: Derek McDonald

Position: Linebacker

Year: Redshirt Freshman

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 229

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

High School: Marist School

2021 stats: McDonald appeared in 2 games and did not record any statistics.

2022 projections: With the starting LBs set in stone and many other underclassmen on the roster, McDonald will have to fight for consistent playing time. He could rotate in as needed but this is still probably a development year.

How’d he get here?: Despite five Ivy League offers (Yale, Penn, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Princeton), McDonald chose the Orange in May 2020.

What’d recruiting sites say?: Consensus 3-star prospect

Twitter: @derekmcd21

Instagram: @derek_mcd81

Interesting nugget o’interest: Marist (not to be confused with the college in Poughkeepsie) has some pretty notable alumni. Last year, John mentioned David Hasselhoff as a former student there, but I’m more inclined to talk about Sean McVay since having any connection to the guy means you’re automatically a football stud these days.

Let’s get a look at ya: SU defensive coaches break down some of Derek’s film (and in typical Syracuse fashion, his name is spelled wrong in the title).