Cole
Mcdonald.
Cole
Mcdonald.
Hawaii· 6'3"· 215 lb· 4.58s 40
"Tennessee drafted a big-armed Hawaii passer with 8,032 yards and 70 touchdowns at No. 224, but his raw mechanics never won a roster spot and he was waived before his rookie season."Pre-draft read
McDonald was the starting quarterback in Hawaii's run-and-shoot offense, a 6-3, 215-pound passer who threw 995 passes over his final two seasons. His primary trait was arm strength: he pushed the ball vertically with ease, attacked all three levels and could fit throws into tight windows downfield, which fueled 8,010 yards and 69 touchdowns in two years as a starter.
His secondary trait was athleticism, with a 4.58 40 and a 36-inch vertical that made him a threat on scrambles and designed runs. His athletic ceiling was high for the position, and his signature was a long, looping delivery that scouts believed would need a rebuild at the next level.
Vertical, shotgun passing offense that lets a big-armed quarterback attack downfield and use his legs on boots and scrambles.
Year 1: practice squad quarterback reworking his delivery. Ceiling: athletic backup with spot-start ability.
Timing-based West Coast offense built on quick, rhythm throws from under center that exposes his long release.
His development depended on a full rebuild of his mechanics.
Hawai'i QB Cole McDonald Highlight Reel - 2019 Season
His 2019 season, when he ranked third nationally in passing yards.
Hawaii QB Cole McDonald College Highlights
The Titans' college cut-up released after his selection.
Cole McDonald Hawaii Highlights || All 40 Touchdowns From The 2019 Season
Every touchdown he accounted for in 2019.
McDonald projected as a developmental quarterback with starting-caliber arm talent and athleticism but major mechanical and decision-making questions. Evaluators liked his velocity, his aggressiveness and his ability to create outside the pocket, but saw a raw passer whose delivery and reads needed years of work.
He took over in 2018 and threw for 3,875 yards and 36 touchdowns, then posted 4,135 yards and 33 scores in 2019 to rank third nationally in passing yards and make second-team All-Mountain West. He capped his career with 493 yards and four touchdowns in a Hawaii Bowl win over BYU. The flags were 24 interceptions over two seasons, a wide windup, a pass-heavy system with simple reads and uneven stretches of play during his final season.
Most boards viewed him as a late-round project with rare tools for a Day 3 quarterback. Tennessee took him at No. 224 as a developmental backup, hoping its coaching staff could tighten his motion and harness his arm.
- 01
Arm strength
Drove the ball vertically with ease and fit throws into tight windows downfield, finishing third nationally with 4,135 passing yards in 2019.
- 02
Athleticism
Ran a 4.58 40 with a 36-inch vertical at the combine, giving him real value as a scrambler and a threat on designed runs.
- 03
Production
Threw for 8,032 yards and 70 touchdowns at Hawaii, finishing fourth on the school's career lists in both categories.
- 04
Big-game performance
Passed for 493 yards and four touchdowns in the 2019 Hawaii Bowl win over BYU, earning the game's MVP award.
- 05
Aggressiveness
Attacked downfield without hesitation and trusted his arm to create explosive plays against Mountain West secondaries.
- 01
Unorthodox delivery
Used a long, looping windup that slowed his release and gave NFL pass rushers extra time to reach the quarterback.
- 02
Turnover issues
Threw 24 interceptions over two seasons as a starter, often forcing throws into coverage when his first option was covered.
- 03
System projection
The run-and-shoot relied on simple reads and option routes, leaving questions about his ability to read full-field concepts.
- 04
Inconsistent accuracy
Completed 61.4 percent of his career passes, with ball placement that wavered when he had to throw on the move.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.58sp50
- Vertical
- 36inp50
- Broad jump
- 121inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.13sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.52sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Hawaii | 6 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | Hawaii | 13 | 285 | 484 | 3875 | 36 | 10 |
| 2019 | Hawaii | 14 | 326 | 511 | 4135 | 33 | 14 |
| Career | — | 33 | 616 | 1004 | 8032 | 70 | 24 |
Seasons from Sports-Reference, matching the Titans' draft bio and Hawaii's career totals: the three years sum exactly to 616 completions, 1,004 attempts, 8,032 yards, 70 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He redshirted in 2016.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
The realized outcome: a developmental arm who never reached an NFL regular season.
Athletic, undrafted passer who carved out a long career as a backup and spot starter.
Productive college quarterback whose mechanics and decisions kept him off rosters.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
McDonald signed his rookie deal with Tennessee but was waived in August 2020 during training camp, when the Titans signed Trevor Siemian as a veteran backup. He joined Arizona on a futures contract in 2021 and was released that May, then played briefly for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts in 2021, throwing four passes. He later spent time with the XFL's Houston Roughnecks in 2023 and was in camp with Edmonton in 2024 without appearing in an NFL regular-season game.
In hindsight the pick was a reasonable seventh-round swing on arm talent that did not connect. The tools evaluators praised were real, and reports from Titans camp said he had tightened his motion, but the delivery, turnover and system concerns that dropped him to Day 3 kept him from ever earning a roster spot. His path is a reminder of how far college production in a spread passing system can be from NFL readiness, even with a strong arm and good athleticism at quarterback.