Ohio State Buckeyes' Rising Star Reveals Huge Goal for 2025

This Ohio State Buckeyes' rising star has delivered a very bold statement for the 2025 college football season.

Matthew Schmidt | Feb 9, 2025

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Kayden McDonald (98) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are losing a plethora of players to the NFL Draft this April, and many of those departures will come on the defensive side of the ball.

As a result, Ohio State will need some of its unproven players to step up in 2025, and one name in particular is generating some buzz: defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.

McDonald definitely showed some flashes this past season, logging 19 tackles, a couple of tackles for loss and a pass defended in limited action.

But with Tyleik Williams set to make the jump to the pros, the Buckeyes will need another big body to fill the interior, and McDonald seems to feel he is ready for the job.

Not only that, but McDonald feels he will be so productive that he will be able to head to the NFL Draft next spring.

“I just want to be a leader and step up for that. I want to be the leader for the D-line,” McDonald said, via Eleven Warriors. “I want to also be the leader of the defense. I feel like I can do that and get better in the offseason every day. The goal for next year will be to go to the NFL Draft, but God got me. I’ll lean on my brothers every day to make sure I’m safe.”

McDonald is heading into his junior campaign, so he is certainly running out of time to make a significant impact at Columbus. But there is no question that he had some moments in 2024, like when he came up with a huge stop in Ohio State's win over Penn State.

The Buckeyes are one of the best recruiting schools in the country, so obviously, they saw something in McDonald when they landed him for the class of 2023.

We'll see if McDonald can deliver next season.

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Published Feb 9, 2025

MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.