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- Thread starter brodybuck21
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DT Kayden McDonald, 80 OVR
An 80 overall isn’t a bad rating, but the largest man on Ohio State’s defense is primed to feast in 2025.McDonald, a 6-foot-3, 326-pound nose guard with an unnaturally quick first step at that size, managed to turn heads despite playing behind the stalwart defensive tackle tandem of Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton in 2024. McDonald may well have been the Buckeyes’ most valuable subpackage defender last year, a central cog in what probably goes down as the best goal-line defense in team history. He’d play head-up on opposing centers in such looks, and made his presence felt on plays like this 3rd-and-goal against Penn State:
“That was probably my favorite moment (of the season),” McDonald said after the season. “I just wanted to win that game and be ready when my number was called. No matter how many plays you get, it’s up to you when they call your name, so that’s how I go about it.”
McDonald played plenty of spot duty, too, logging 214 snaps, the most of Ohio State’s defensive tackles outside Hamilton and Williams, who are both off to the NFL. He collected 19 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in that time. Set to start at nose guard for the Buckeyes in 2025, McDonald has already shown that 80 overall could be far too low.
Kayden McDonald, Payton Pierce Among Most Underrated Buckeyes in EA Sports College Football 26
Kayden McDonald and Payton Pierce are among Ohio State's most underrated players in the new EA Sports college football video game.
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I'll be damned if he doesn't actually start looking like Sapp more and more.
Gonna be a big year
Gonna be a big year
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Skull Session: Ryan Day is a Ranked Warrior, Arvell Reese is a Freak of Nature and Jermaine Mathews Jr. Says Ohio State Runs Through the SEC
Ryan Day is a ranked warrior, Arvell Reese is a freak of nature, Jermaine Mathews Jr. says Ohio State runs through the SEC and Paul Finebaum eats crow.
WE SEE YOU, SLIM MAC. We all know how well Reese and Mathews played against Texas, but do we all know how well Kayden McDonald played? I’m not so sure. Allow me to make the case that McDonald had Ohio State’s most underrated performance in the season opener.
Last season, McDonald was Ohio State’s No. 3 defensive tackle behind future first-round pick Tyleik Williams and future fifth-round pick Ty Hamilton, and he collected 19 tackles across 16 appearances.
On Saturday, McDonald had nine tackles.
As a nose tackle!
Against the No. 1 team in the nation!
McDonald’s performance was special. It becomes even more special when you remember Ohio State’s depth concerns at defensive tackle, especially with Jason Moore out for the game with a lower-leg injury.
Like with Reese, however, Ohio State’s coaches and players tried to tell us about McDonald — heck, McDonald tried to tell us about McDonald!
“It started in the offseason, fixing my diet, getting my weight down, having Coach Mick (Marotti) on me every day,” McDonald said in August of his offseason transformation as he prepared for a starting role. “I just kept working.”
His work paid off in the season opener. He hopes it will next week, too.
“We worked really hard in the offseason. It showed today,” McDonald said after the game. “We just got to keep building off of it and just keep going.”
Just sayin': Here is another guy on defense (that nobody has mentioned much about yet) that really stepped up his game Saturday.
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Jagdaddy
Head Coach
Skull Session: Ryan Day is a Ranked Warrior, Arvell Reese is a Freak of Nature and Jermaine Mathews Jr. Says Ohio State Runs Through the SEC
Ryan Day is a ranked warrior, Arvell Reese is a freak of nature, Jermaine Mathews Jr. says Ohio State runs through the SEC and Paul Finebaum eats crow.www.elevenwarriors.com
WE SEE YOU, SLIM MAC. We all know how well Reese and Mathews played against Texas, but do we all know how well Kayden McDonald played? I’m not so sure. Allow me to make the case that McDonald had Ohio State’s most underrated performance in the season opener.
Last season, McDonald was Ohio State’s No. 3 defensive tackle behind future first-round pick Tyleik Williams and future fifth-round pick Ty Hamilton, and he collected 19 tackles across 16 appearances.
On Saturday, McDonald had nine tackles.
As a nose tackle!
Against the No. 1 team in the nation!
McDonald’s performance was special. It becomes even more special when you remember Ohio State’s depth concerns at defensive tackle, especially with Jason Moore out for the game with a lower-leg injury.
Like with Reese, however, Ohio State’s coaches and players tried to tell us about McDonald — heck, McDonald tried to tell us about McDonald!
“It started in the offseason, fixing my diet, getting my weight down, having Coach Mick (Marotti) on me every day,” McDonald said in August of his offseason transformation as he prepared for a starting role. “I just kept working.”
His work paid off in the season opener. He hopes it will next week, too.
“We worked really hard in the offseason. It showed today,” McDonald said after the game. “We just got to keep building off of it and just keep going.”
Just sayin': Here is another guy on defense (that nobody has mentioned much about yet) that really stepped up his game Saturday.
Dude is going to make a lot of money if he keeps it up.
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scarletngray
Gold Pants
Great first start for KMac! He and Houston are the perfect combination to man the middle of our DL.
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Ohio State's defense dominated Texas and Pro Football Focus took notice of the Buckeyes on that side of the ball.
Following Ohio State's season-opening win over No. 1 Texas, many people were impressed with the performance of the Buckeyes' defensive players and formed opinions on how Ohio State's players performed. One such set of opinions comes from Pro Football Focus, who grades every player after every game based on how they perform on a snap-to-snap basis.
PFF's Grading Scale
We compiled the PFF grades for every Buckeye who played on either offense or defense in the season opener and highlight the three highest-graded players – all of whom were on the defensive side of the ball – who played at least 10 snaps against the Longhorns.
www.elevenwarriors.com
Following Ohio State's season-opening win over No. 1 Texas, many people were impressed with the performance of the Buckeyes' defensive players and formed opinions on how Ohio State's players performed. One such set of opinions comes from Pro Football Focus, who grades every player after every game based on how they perform on a snap-to-snap basis.
PFF's Grading Scale
| ELITE | GOOD | ABOVE AVG. | AVG. | BELOW AVG. | POOR | VERY POOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | 80-89 | 70-79 | 60-69 | 50-59 | 40-49 | Below 40 |
The Top Three
1. DT Kayden McDonald (82.4)
Entering the season-opener against Texas, a concern many analysts had about Ohio State's defense was the interior defensive line. McDonald answered that question by racking up eight tackles against the Longhorns, earning the second-highest tackling grade (77.1) among all defensive tackles in the country. His tackle grade was the best among all DTs in the B1G and he also led the Buckeyes with a score of 82.2 in run defense.
Kayden McDonald, Will Smith Jr. and Jermaine Mathews Jr. Earn Highest Grades from Pro Football Focus for Ohio State’s Win Over Texas
Defensive tackles Kayden McDonald and Will Smith Jr. were Ohio State’s top players against Texas, followed by Jermaine Mathews Jr., according to Pro Football Focus.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Ohio State's defense dominated Texas and Pro Football Focus took notice of the Buckeyes on that side of the ball.
Following Ohio State's season-opening win over No. 1 Texas, many people were impressed with the performance of the Buckeyes' defensive players and formed opinions on how Ohio State's players performed. One such set of opinions comes from Pro Football Focus, who grades every player after every game based on how they perform on a snap-to-snap basis.
PFF's Grading Scale
We compiled the PFF grades for every Buckeye who played on either offense or defense in the season opener and highlight the three highest-graded players – all of whom were on the defensive side of the ball – who played at least 10 snaps against the Longhorns.
ELITE GOOD ABOVE AVG. AVG. BELOW AVG. POOR VERY POOR 90-100 80-89 70-79 60-69 50-59 40-49 Below 40
The Top Three
1. DT Kayden McDonald (82.4)
Entering the season-opener against Texas, a concern many analysts had about Ohio State's defense was the interior defensive line. McDonald answered that question by racking up eight tackles against the Longhorns, earning the second-highest tackling grade (77.1) among all defensive tackles in the country. His tackle grade was the best among all DTs in the B1G and he also led the Buckeyes with a score of 82.2 in run defense.
Kayden McDonald, Will Smith Jr. and Jermaine Mathews Jr. Earn Highest Grades from Pro Football Focus for Ohio State’s Win Over Texas
Defensive tackles Kayden McDonald and Will Smith Jr. were Ohio State’s top players against Texas, followed by Jermaine Mathews Jr., according to Pro Football Focus.
Just sayin': Kayden graded out as the Top Buckeye 2 weeks in a row:
1. DT Kayden McDonald (93.6)
For consecutive weeks, McDonald graded out as Ohio State's best player. Not only was his overall score of 93.6 the highest for a Buckeye against Grambling State, it was also the best of any defensive tackle in college football during Week 2. His 95.1 grade against the run was also the best among all DTs in the country.McDonald's impressive overall grade is the best for any Buckeye defender since last season and just behind Jeremiah Smith's 94.5 against Oregon in the Rose Bowl for the overall best game grade in that time frame.
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