Senior safety Adrian McDonald has been a leader both vocally and statistically for the Cougars over the past few seasons, and he looks poised to continue that this season. | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar
Senior safety Adrian McDonald was a force on the Cougar defense for the past two seasons and his play garnered the attention of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, who named McDonald the top defensive back in Texas headed into the 2015 season.
Last year McDonald racked up 75 tackles, three forced fumbles and five interceptions while starting all 13 games and earning him a spot on the 2014 American Athletic Conference First Team.
The Eisenhower High School product was also named to Campbell’s five-man Texas’ College Player of the Year watch list, as well as Campbell’s All-Texas Preseason First Team.
Dave Campbell’s honor is the latest preseason honor for the UH star, who was also named to The American’s Preseason First Team by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
Looking into the coming season, McDonald has a chance to improve on his career.
New defensive coordinator Todd Orlando will be implementing a more aggressive scheme than in past years, and with his ball-hawking skills, the safety is excited about the opportunities he and his teammates will get.
“I think we can all take advantage of the aggressive scheme,” McDonald said. “We might be able to get a couple of interceptions (and) some cheap pick-sixes maybe. Scoring on defense will be big for us. Defense wins championship games, and we will make it happen.”
