Will McDonald IV can do something no Iowa State Cyclone has done in 50 years. He can hear his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The powerful pass rusher is a late Day 1 prospect who’d make history if he can find a place in the first 31 selections. He’d be the first Iowa State alum to earn an official first round grade since George Amundson was selected 14th overall in 1973.
There’s no other program among the Power Five schools — teams who play in either the Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12, Big 12 or SEC conferences — with a drought that even approaches the Cyclones. The only other school to be shut out this millennium is Indiana, and even the Hoosiers have 21 years on Iowa State.
What about the rest of college football’s highest profile teams? Here’s the last time each of the 65 Power Five programs — including new Big 12 additions Cincinnati, BYU, Central Florida and Houston as well as Notre Dame — produced a first-round draft pick.