Awards and Honors:
2021 Second Team All-OVC
2021 Preseason All-OVC
2020-21 First Team All-OVC
2022 NFF Hampshire Honor Society
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District
2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District
2019 Honorable Mention HERO Sports Sophomore All-American (LB)
OVC Defensive Player of the Week: March 2 (2020-21); Sept. 19 (2021)
OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22)
Dean's List (F17, S18, F19, S20, F20, S21)
Athletic Director's Honor Roll (F18, S19, F21, S22)
2021 (Graduate Student): Earned Second Team All-OVC recognition as a stalwart on the Governors defense from the linebacker position… Opened the season with five tackles at Chattanooga (Sept. 2)… Had first-career touchdown on a 32-yard interception return against Morehead State (Sept. 18)… Had first of two 10-tackle performances at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 25), with two tackles for loss… Had nine tackles and one tackle for loss against Tennessee State (Oct. 2)… Racked up another ten-tackle day against Southeast Missouri (Oct. 9)… Recorded seven tackles including four solo stops and forced a fumble in a dominant, 47-6 win at rival Murray State (Oct. 23)… Had nine tackles, including a season-high seven solo stops against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 6), while also recording a season-high mark in tackles for loss with 2.5. Assisted on a sack against the Panthers as well… Tied for second on the team with 71 tackles and fourth in tackles for loss with six… Finished ninth in the OVC in tackles and 20th in tackles for loss.
2020-2021 (Redshirt Junior): A consistent and reliable force from the linebacker position, McDonald started all nine games and led the Governors in tackles for the second-consecutive season on his way to being named First-Team All-OVC... Totaled nine tackles against Central Arkansas (Aug. 29) in the season opener; while also picking up his second career interception… Began a four-game streak of recording at least 1.5 tackles for loss and 8-plus tackles against Tennessee Tech (Feb. 21)... Racked up 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and had the game-sealing pass breakup against Tennessee State (Feb. 28), earning OVC Defensive Player of the Week... Had a career-high 13 tackles versus Southeast Missouri… Posted two tackles behind the line of scrimmage against UT Martin (March 21) for his final multi-TFL outing of the season... Had 12 tackles against Murray State – his third game with 10-plus tackles on the season... Tied for 17th in the FCS and ranked third in the OVC with nine tackles for loss, also tied for 21st in the FCS and ranked fourth in the OVC with 70 total tackles.
2019 (Redshirt Sophomore): Move back to linebacker yielded a 118-tackle season and a spot in the starting lineup… posted 9.5 tackles for loss, with a total performance that yielded Sophomore All-American Honorable Mention from Hero Sports… six tackles, one for loss, and a hurry in the opener against North Carolina Central (Aug. 29)… seven stops (1.0 TFL) at Mercer… intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble at ETSU (Sept. 21)… back-to-back double-digit tackle efforts against Jacksonville State (11, plus 1.0 TFL, Sept. 28) and Southeast Missouri (10, Oct. 12)… nine stops, one for loss, and a pass break-up at Tennessee State… another 11-tackle day at Tennessee Tech (Oct. 26)… one sack, one pass break-up and one hurry against UT Martin (Nov. 9)… 10 stops and a career-best 2.5 behind the line in the regular season finale against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 23)… totaled 24 tackles across three FCS Playoff games, including nine with one for loss against Furman (Nov. 30).
2018 (Redshirt Freshman): Reserve tight end saw action in nine games, primarily as a special teamer.
2017 (Freshman): Did not see action, redshirted.
High School: Honorable mention all-state for Cody White at Brentwood Academy… led team in tackles on the defensive side of the ball, in addition to his duties as an h-back.
Personal: Russell Jackson McDonald is the son of Rusty and Jackie McDonald… Birthday is March 18… has three sisters: Brooke, Morgan and Hope… His father, Rusty, played basketball at Rhodes College and was a member of the Lynx 1980-81 team that reached the Division III Elite Eight… Earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing in May 2021… Pursuing a master’s degree in management at Austin Peay.
