Cade McDonald spent four seasons as a walk-on before breaking out as a scholarship receiver. Now he uses that same walk-on mentality to approach his NFL future.
Naperville [IL] Central High School practices were no stranger to college coaches.
Quarterback Payton Thorne rose to stardom during the 2018 season, dicing defenses for over 3,000 yards and 40 touchdowns en route to USA Today Illinois Offensive Player of the Year honors. Coaches studied his tape meticulously, hoping to lure the star quarterback to play at their university.
While Thorne was the star of his own tape, another standout prevailed as an important supporting character. Those watching couldn’t miss the playmaking of No. 13 on Naperville Central, a sure-handed wide receiver with a knack for racking up yards after the catch. That receiver was Cade McDonald, who registered 91 receptions, 1,397 yards, and 18 touchdowns in the fall of 2018. Despite all-conference and all-area recognition, McDonald wasn’t highly recruited. In fact, he was completely devoid of an FBS scholarship offer.
Thorne’s film would change McDonald’s football future forever.
Western Michigan, NC State, and Michigan State were among the top suitors for Thorne, with all three schools offering McDonald an opportunity as a preferred walk-on. Thorne committed to Michigan State on a scholarship offer, and his top receiver from Naperville also landed there — except McDonald had to fight for his scholarship offer.
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There are countless stories of perseverance for walk-ons. Every fall, wholesome viral videos spread across the internet when hard work and dedication is rewarded in the form of a scholarship. Everybody in McDonald’s position dreams about this moment, and it comes true for many. Unfortunately at Michigan State, after assisting with special teams at countless practices over four years and operating as a backup wide receiver, this moment never materialized for the hopeful McDonald.
The leaves would grow, change colors, and fade, the earth would make its revolution, and the cycle would continue. McDonald went four-straight years operating under the same walk-on label.
McDonald bled green and white to the fullest extent. He loved every aspect about East Lansing, but at the same time, faced the hard truth that his football career could only flourish if he sought elsewhere.
“I thought I was gonna start and end my career at Michigan State and have a great four to five-year career and that was gonna be it,” McDonald said. “I really didn’t think I was gonna transfer until the last week of my senior year when they didn’t offer me a scholarship. I thought I was gonna be a Spartan for life.”
In four years at Michigan State from 2019-22, McDonald logged five receptions and five punt returns. With a lack of on-field activity, the receiver found stardom elsewhere at the university, acing his logistics management and business classes while learning the ins and outs of procurement of product and companies — accumulating three Academic All-Big Ten selections along the way.
“What I was taught was, if everything’s taken care of off the field, then you’re gonna be able to play your best on the field,” McDonald said. “I really just worked in school like I worked in football. I gave everything I got to academics and ultimately got the grades good enough to graduate with a degree.”
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He graduated with a degree from Michigan State and decided to continue schooling to earn a second degree. But McDonald understood he still had more to give to the game of football, and that was realized at the Spartans’ 2023 spring game.
Miami (OH) tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Pat Welsh (who now serves as the offensive coordinator) happened to be watching the Michigan State spring game where McDonald stood out with several notable plays. The following day, McDonald entered the portal and immediately, an offer from Miami was waiting. Welsh and the RedHawks were intrigued with McDonald’s ability to produce if given playing time, and they stood as his only scholarship offer in the portal.
McDonald was a Redhawk at Naperville Central, and it was only fitting he became a RedHawk once again at Miami.
McDonald wanted to play at Miami because it was the first school to offer him a scholarship. But after learning more about the football program, the wide receiver was sold. He saw the team’s recent track record of success with transfer receivers. The fall before McDonald on-boarded, Miami’s top two receivers — Mac Hippenhammer (formerly Penn State) and Miles Marshall (formerly Indiana) — transferred in from Big Ten schools for expanded playing time and delivered with their opportunities. McDonald was thrilled with that receiver development, as well as the impressive continuity of the staff and the quarterback.
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“I didn’t know Mac Hippenhammer that much before I committed to Miami, but right after, I saw what he did the year before and thought I could do the same thing,” McDonald said. “What really sold me on Miami and what Coach Martin told me in his recruiting process was they had a four-year starting veteran in Brett (Gabbert), and I really wanted to play with someone with that knowledge and that experience.”
McDonald rose into starting status toward the end of the season for the RedHawks, finishing his first year as a scholarship receiver with career-highs in receptions (28), receiving yards (355), and touchdowns (3). Sweetening McDonald’s first year in Miami was a MAC championship, where the RedHawks defeated Toledo as underdogs at Ford Field in Detroit.
“Coming from Michigan State to Miami, I didn’t know a whole bunch about the MAC or who was good and who was not good,” McDonald said. “We ended up making it to Detroit. Going on that field the day before, walking around an NFL stadium, it’s an unreal feeling that you’ve made it to this point. Then playing the game, playing at an NFL stadium is much different than playing at Yager Stadium back in Oxford. It was one of the best feelings winning as the underdog against that really good Toledo team.”
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McDonald concluded his first year with the RedHawks as a second-team All-MAC selection— but not for his receiving endeavors.
The former Spartan dabbled in punt returning since high school when he was one of the few players on the roster who could cleanly catch the punter’s highest boots. Working behind one of the nation’s best punt returners in current Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed, McDonald earned countless of practices reps and several in-game opportunities as Michigan State’s return man. At Miami, he once again held backup punt returner status — this time to wide receiver Gage Larvadain — but after Larvadain suffered an injury in Week 4, McDonald finally upgraded to a starting gig.
McDonald’s all-conference selection on special teams came with a sudden realization: the NFL was a possibility in his future.
“I realized that after my first season here when I put up pretty good numbers as a punt returner,” McDonald said. “I thought to myself I could possibly punt return in the league in a year or two with the skills I put on display in the past season. That really drove me my final year at Miami. I was thinking, ‘Let me put this receiver part to work this year too so I can be a versatile weapon in the NFL.’”
Armed with the confidence of an NFL future, the MAC champion receiver and punt returner was eager to capitalize on his final year of eligibility at Miami. The RedHawks lost a bevy of their production at the skill positions, especially wide receiver, but the former walk-on was ready to fill the void as a veteran leader on Miami’s offense.
“All offseason Coach Martin was talking about how many yards of offense we lost from Gage (Larvadain) to our running back Rashad Amos,” McDonald said. “I really took that to heart and I just started working. I knew I could be that guy and I really showed that in game one and two of the season and tried to show that throughout the year.”
McDonald never registered a 100-yard game in his first five years of college. 2024 was a different world for the receiver. In the opener at Northwestern’s makeshift stadium on Lake Michigan, McDonald led the RedHawks with 105 yards on eight receptions. The following week, he took his game to another level, tallying 135 yards and a touchdown on eight catches in the crosstown rivalry against Cincinnati.
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Two games in, McDonald became such a renowned threat that opponents tried new tactics to contain the sixth-year wide receiver. This only made Miami’s offense more dangerous as it opened up the floodgates for teammates Javon Tracy and Reggie Virgil to thrive. At the end of the season, all three receivers split production fairly evenly with 40+ receptions and 630+ yards apiece.
“Once teams saw those first two games from me, they’d put an extra guy on me for a few downs each possession,” McDonald said. “That opened up a lot of things for Reggie and Javon and you can’t really guard Reggie and Javon one-on-one.”
A 52-catch season for another successful Miami team only reassured McDonald that an NFL opportunity was within reach. Immediately after going out on top with a definitive victory in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl in Tucson, McDonald drove to grab his belongings and headed to the X3 training facility in Nashville. An invite to the Hula Bowl accompanied him as he embarked on an arduous offseason of training for the next level.
“This year really showed how versatile I am in the punt return game as well as being a receiver,” McDonald said. “It really showed I can be an every down receiver. They year before at Miami, I played a bunch but didn’t really get to start until halfway through the season. Starting off the year as a starter really showed my ability to play every down and have a special impact on the game.”
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McDonald did not receive an invite the NFL Draft Combine, but his pro day was as bold of a statement as he could deliver. Outside of his 40-yard dash, he set a personal record in nearly every measurement in front of NFL scouts. He graded excellently with a 1.51-second 10-yard split, a 4.13-second shuttle run, and a 6.75-second three-cone drill. McDonald believes the skills measured in these drills are those most beneficial to his game.
“My biggest skill that would translate to the NFL is my run after catch,” McDonald said. “I really improved that as each game went on, and I’m a really proficient route runner which translates to the NFL game really well.”
Versatility is another attribute of McDonald’s game which could push him to the professional ranks. While wide receiver and punt returner were his main positions at Miami, McDonald’s vast experience as a walk-on at Michigan State allowed him to gain expertise in undervalued special teams positions.
“On special teams, you can put me in the core at punt or you can put me at gunner on punt,” McDonald said. “On punt return, I can punt return as a shell or be up in the core blocking for the punt returner behind me. You can play me anywhere and I’ll have a significant impact to win the game for the team.”
The walk-on experience is what McDonald believes can become the separator which allows him to thrive at the NFL level. He wouldn’t trade his path for anything, because the mentality he adopted scraping every day for four years just to obtain a scholarship is the same mentality he will apply to achieving his NFL dreams.
“That mindset is really one of a kind, because every day, you’re working as hard as you can not only to get on the field, but to earn that scholarship to help you pay for school,” McDonald said. “It gives me a different edge I think, because a lot of guys never had that mindset. That’s what makes me unique. Even after being put on scholarship at Miami, that drive is still in me.”
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McDonald, along with hundreds of former NCAA stars, will hope to hear his name from an NFL scout this weekend. The 2025 NFL Draft begins this upcoming Thursday, April 24th, and concludes around Sunday after the first wave of undrafted free agency.