For somebody who had only one NCAA Division I scholarship offer coming out of high school, former University of Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald has emerged as an intriguing “value pick” for next month’s NFL Draft.
And, depending on how that “value” is assessed in the intervening weeks, McDonald could also become the highest Rainbow Warrior taken as a quarterback in the draft.
“I like McDonald, I think he has potential and I would take him over some of the bigger-named quarterbacks,” ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay said in a Tuesday conference call.
McDonald, whose only major college offer came from UH, was listed as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com and not rated by some other services coming out of Sonora High in La Habra, Calif., in 2016.
McShay said he would select McDonald over Shea Patterson of Michigan, a five-star recruit, and, “There are other names that I don’t need to go into, but I like McDonald and I think he could be a real value pick in that fifth (or) sixth round range,” McShay said.
The NFL Draft runs April 23-25, with the fourth through seventh rounds scheduled for the final day.
Colt Brennan, who was a sixth-round selection of the Washington Redskins and 186th pick overall of the 2008 draft, went the highest as a quarterback from UH. Raphel Cherry was a fifth-round pick of the Redskins in 1985, but was selected as a defensive back after playing quarterback at UH.
UH will hold its annual pro day workouts March 24 in Los Angeles, another opportunity for McDonald to answer some questions and bolster his stock.
One of the knocks on McDonald, who leaves UH after his redshirt junior season as a two-year starter, is his sometimes awkward pass delivery. “I think he has a longer delivery and I talked to Jordan Palmer, who has been working with him, and they are working on tightening it up,” McShay said.
“From watching tape, it is very obvious that he is on his toes and the throw takes a split second longer than you’d like to see get the ball out,” McShay said. “But, I think that he has a lot (of skills) to work with.”
In last week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis, McDonald, sans dreadlocks, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds, fastest of the quarterbacks on hand.
“Forty-yard dashes, for quarterbacks, don’t mean a whole lot, in my opinion,” McShay said. “But when you run with that speed, it shows you that there are options there in terms of mobility, maybe some zone-read aspects of playing at the next level. As NFL teams continue to evolve, if you will, and become more like college spreads, and I think there is something there (for McDonald).”
“I’m just looking at my rankings now and I have (Joe) Burrow, then Tua Tagovailoa, then Jordan Love and Justin Herbert,” McShay said. “Then, after that, the second or third tier — however you want to look at it — is Jake Fromm, Jacob Eason, Nate Stanley, Anthony Gordon, Jalen Hurts and, when you get to that Day 3 range, I think McDonald is gonna be an interesting pick,” McShay said.
“And, if he winds up in the right spot, he might be a really good backup in the league who could, (and) you never know, maybe come in and start and win some games for a team.”
Which would make for quite a success story for somebody who was likely headed to a junior college four years ago until UH, in the 11th hour, offered the only Division I scholarship.