All Badgers

Wisconsin football lands a commitment from 2023 DE Will McDonald

The Badgers land a walk-on commitment from three-star defensive end Will McDonald.

Matt Belz

Recruiting news had slowed down a bit for the Wisconsin Badgers recently.

That all changed on Wednesday morning though, as the Badgers secured a verbal commitment from three-star defensive end Will McDonald.

The news of McDonald's commitment comes just one week after earning a preferred walk-on opportunity at Wisconsin. 

From Hudson (Wis.), McDonald will join his older brother Cade McDonald, a redshirt sophomore defensive end on the current Wisconsin roster. The two will reunite in Madison, and the move represents a "super exciting" opportunity for the brothers. Will told All Badgers last week that "it's something that my brother and I have been talking about since we were kids."

McDonald has been a frequent visitor to Madison over the past few years, most recently for one of the UW's summer camps and in April for spring practice. During those trips, he had the chance to speak with Wisconsin assistant coach Ross Kolodziej, and McDonald is very familiar with the program given his brother's involvement on the team.

The 6-foot-4 defensive end prospect is a three-star prospect by both 247 Sports and Rivals, and McDonald is considered the No. 2 prospect in the state by 247 Sports.

A stellar lacrosse player, McDonald brings plus athleticism to the position, and he is far from your traditional walk-on. He actually turned down several scholarship opportunities in favor of staying inside the state, including offers from Akron, Army, Illinois State, Iowa State, Kansas, Kent State, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, and South Dakota.

McDonald is the second-known walk-on commitment for the Badgers in the 2023 class, joining long-snapper Keane Bessert. 

Overall, Wisconsin now has 15 total commitments in the cycle, 13 of which are on scholarship. You can check out the entire list of 2023 commits and McDonald's junior highlights below.  

Full-scholarship

Walk-on

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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