During the course of his recruitment, Will McDonald racked up offers from Akron, Army, Illinois State, Kent State, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, South Dakota and Fordham.

Monday, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound in-state defensive end from Hudson High School landed his first Power 5 scholarship from Iowa State.

"About a week ago, Iowa State sent Coach (Tom) Manning to school to watch me lift," McDonald told BadgerBlitz.com. "He was really impressed with me and I had a great time talking with him. He talked to my coach for a while as well and said he loved my strength and athleticism. He said he would give a good report to the coaches, and a few days after that the head of recruiting and few coaches hit me up and talked about their interest.

"Today (Monday) I got a got a call from Coach Manning and he went ahead and offered me. He thinks I'm a great fit for their scheme. Then I called Coach (Matt) Campbell, the head coach, and he went into more depth about the offer and how they think I'm a great fit in their scheme as an athletic edge defender. Both in football and my personality, I fit what Iowa State is all about and I'm the type of person he loves to recruit."

McDonald, a newly-minted three-star prospect, already has a trip to Ames under his belt.

"I'm definitely interested in Iowa State," McDonald said. "I was there for a game-day visit in October when they played Oklahoma State. The campus and culture really stood out to me. Their fanbase is crazy and so supportive, which is really cool to see. People there just love the football program and they've done great the past few seasons with Coach Campbell. I think they provide a good fit for me and we'll see what happens.

"I think this offer will open up some doors and catch the attention of some new programs. I'm excited to see what happens if people get to see me more. With COVID last year it was tough to get to camps, so I think an offer from Iowa State is really big for me."

The in-state Badgers are keeping a close eye on McDonald, the younger brother of third-year defensive end Cade McDonald. Will McDonald was able to attended UW's final spring practice in late April.

"It was a really good visit," McDonald said. "We toured all the facilities again and talked in more depth with the coaches. The new recruiting coordinator, Coach (Mickey) Turner, I talked with him a lot and got good feedback. We also got to watch the practice and I really enjoyed that.

"From what they've told me they're very interested and they want to see me at camp, but that could change pretty quickly. I don't know exactly where I am on their recruiting board right now, but we'll see what happens coming up."

McDonald, who had 52 tackles and four sacks as a junior, plans to camp at Iowa State, Wisconsin and Iowa this summer. He is also receiving recruiting attention in la crosse.

"I'm hearing the most from Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Iowa State, Kent State and North Dakota State," McDonald said. "Schools have been talking about playing on the edge and it depends on the scheme. I think the 4-3 that Iowa State runs is really good for me. I do think that I'm between sizes for some 3-4 schools, but I haven't got a ton of feedback about that."

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