A year ago at this time quarterback Cole McDonald was little known outside his own huddle at the University of Hawaii.
But as his junior season nears that has changed significantly with McDonald earning multiple mentions as being among the nation’s top projected returning college quarterbacks for 2019.
The Sporting News, Athlon and 247sports.com are among those that have him on their lists of leading returnees and more distinction is sure to follow as we get closer to a season that is just 96 days away — and counting — for the Rainbow Warriors.
“Don’t be surprised when he leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in (passing),” the Sporting News predicted confidently in ranking McDonald ninth overall on its Top 25 list.
With 3,875 yards over 13 games in 2018, McDonald finished eighth in passing yards per game (298.1) and is the leading returnee in that category for 2019.
Overall, he ranked in the top 10 of six major offensive categories in 2018, including points responsible for (246) between running and passing in helping the Warriors to their first winning season in eight years.
Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Georgia Jake Fromm ranked 1-2-3 by the Sporting News. McDonald’s rating makes him the top quarterback among those from Group of Five conference schools and ahead of some of the touted quarterbacks UH will face this season, including Washington’s Jacob Eason (No. 19) and Arizona’s Khalil Tate (No. 21) in the Aug. 24 opener, for whatever that might be worth.
Before it is done, the buildup could end up being the biggest for a UH quarterback since Bryant Moniz nearly a decade ago. That’s heady stuff, especially for somebody who had hardly any scholarship offers coming out of high school in La Mirada, Calif.
But the down-to-earth humility with which McDonald handled his sudden early success and late-season struggles last year suggests his helmet is still likely to fit when fall camp starts.
Not to mention the tethering impact of the ever-present competition he faces from redshirt freshman Chevan Cordeiro to retain the starting job. Cordeiro retained his freshman-year eligibility while still managing to rally the ’Bows to key victories with magician-like finishes against Wyoming and Nevada-Las Vegas.
Last year McDonald came into it with little in the way of a resume or outside expectations after playing sparingly as a redshirt freshman backup to Dru Brown in 2017. He authored just nine passes in mop-up duty, completing five for a total of 22 yards, in his first year of collegiate competition.
But given the opportunity to replace the departed Brown in 2018, McDonald ran — and passed — with it from the start. His debut was the most explosive of any first-time starter in UH history — five touchdowns (two by running) and 514 yards (418 through the air) — in the season-opening victory at Colorado State.
McDonald’s trajectory stalled only after suffering what would come to be described as internal injuries in the five-overtime victory over San Jose State but he rebounded in a big way with a career-high 452-passing yards and three touchdowns to help UH beat San Diego State in overtime in the regular-season finale assuring a postseason berth.
That’s the ’ol McDonald being projected for 2019.
RETURNING NCAA PASSING LEADERS
PLAYER, SCHOOL G PA PC INT TD YDS. YPG
Cole McDonald, Hawaii 13 484 285 10 36 3,875 298.1
Mason Fine, North Texas 13 469 303 5 27 3,793 291.8
Jordan Love, Utah St. 13 417 267 6 32 3,567 274.4
K.J. Costello, Stanford 13 413 269 11 29 3,540 272.3
D’Eriq King, Houston 11 345 219 6 36 2,982 271.1
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama 15 355 245 6 43 3,966 264.4
Source: NCAA statistics
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS
PLAYER, SCHOOL GAMES TDS
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama 15 43
D’Eriq King, Houston 11 36
Cole McDonald, Hawaii 13 36
Jordan Love, Utah St. 13 32
Jake Fromm, Georgia 14 30
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson 15 30
K.J. Costello, Stanford 13 29
Justin Herbert, Oregon 13 29
Jake Bentley, South Carolina 12 27
Jarret Doege, Bowling Green 12 27
Mason Fine, North Texas 13 27
Source: NCAA statistics
POINTS RESPONSIBLE FOR
PLAYER, SCHOOL GMS PTS.
D’Eriq King, Houston 11 302
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama 15 288
Sam Ehlinger, Texas 14 248
Cole McDonald, Hawaii 13 246
Jordan Love, Utah St. 13 234
Nathan Rourke, Ohio 13 228
Bryce Perkins, Virginia 13 206
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
