Paul McDonald (American football)
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Montebello, California, U.S. | February 23, 1958||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 184 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Bishop Amat Memorial (La Puente, California) | ||||||||
College: | USC | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 1980 / Round: 4 / Pick: 109 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Paul Brian McDonald (born February 23, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning second-team All-American honors in 1979.
Early years
McDonald attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School. He received All-state honors in football as a senior. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Southern California. As a true freshman, he was the third-string quarterback behind Vince Evans and Rob Hertel. As a sophomore, he was promoted to backup quarterback behind Hertel after Evans graduated.
As a junior, he was named the starter at quarterback after Hertel graduated. He was part of a backfield that included
20-7.
He was a senior in 1979, and he played in a backfield that included future Heisman Trophy winners White and Marcus Allen. He posted 2,223 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He led the team to a 17-16 win against Ohio State University, after it entered the 1980 Rose Bowl as the number one ranked team in the nation. He finished sixth in the 1979 Heisman Trophy voting.[1]
He was known for his poise and as a winner, finishing his college career with a 22-1-1 record, holding the
Professional career
Cleveland Browns
McDonald was selected by the
In 1982, he replaced Sipe (who was suffering from a sore throwing arm) in the last three games of the strike-shortened season, posting a 2-1 record and helping the team make the playoffs that had been expanded to 16 teams. He started in the first round of the playoffs, which resulted in a 27-10 loss against the Oakland Raiders, after throwing for 281 yards and 1 touchdown with no interceptions.[4] Sipe won back the starting job the next season.
In 1983, Sipe regained his starting job and McDonald returned to his backup role.
In
In
Seattle Seahawks
On July 16, 1986, he signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks. On August 26, he was released after the team opted to keep only two quarterbacks.[5]
Dallas Cowboys
On November 4, 1986, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent to be the third-string quarterback, after starter Danny White was lost for the season with a broken right wrist he suffered during the 14-17 loss against the New York Giants.[6] He reunited with pass offense coordinator Paul Hackett, who was one of his coaches with the Trojans and the Browns. McDonald also became the first left hander quarterback to make the team in franchise history.
In
Personal life
McDonald went into business after football, working as a Financial Consultant for Merrill Lynch, Vice President for Wells Fargo Bank and Senior Vice President at Fidelity National Title Insurance Company.[1]
McDonald did
His son Mike, was the third-string quarterback for the USC Trojans behind John David Booty and Mark Sanchez, during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He also was a part of two national championship teams.[13] McDonald's middle son, Andrew played quarterback at New Mexico State (2012-2013).[14] His youngest son, Matt, started at quarterback for three years at Bowling Green (2020-2022) after seeing limited playing time for Boston College in 2017-2018 [15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "National Football Foundation Hall of Fame bio". Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "Paul McDonald, Millennium Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Times. 7 October 1999. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "All-Time Honors Award Winners". Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "Raiders Advance With 27-10 Victory". Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "The Dallas Cowboys signed quarterback Paul McDonald". Los Angeles Times. 5 November 1986. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "As USC's Analyst, He's a Left-Handed Complement". Los Angeles Times. 2 December 2005. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "USC Football Color Commentator Paul McDonald Named 2004 Best Radio Analyst By SCSBA". Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ISBN 9780578309651.
- ^ "About - Game Change Nation". www.gamechangenation.com. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ^ "TOM HOFFARTH on THE MEDIA: How 'A City Divided' can unite USC, UCLA". Daily News. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ^ "Michael McDonald USC bio". Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "Andrew McDonald College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
- ^ "Matt McDonald BGSU bio". Retrieved December 27, 2022.