Yesterday's spotlight of Al Harris took us back to the defensive side of the ball, but today with 81 days until the season kicks off, we go back to the offense and examine the career of electric wide receiver Shaun McDonald.
Sports run deep in Shaun McDonald's family. With cousins Mike Bibby (14-year NBA career) and Robbie Findley (171 MLS caps, 11 USMNT caps), it was little surprise that he would enjoy a strong athletic career. A three-sport star at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, McDonald received his only collegiate offer from Arizona State, despite being listed as the No. 5 ranked wide receiver in the Western Region by PrepStar Magazine.
After redshirting his true freshman season in 1999, Shaun emerged in a skill role for Bruce Snyder's team in 2000. Seeing most of his time as a punt returner (team-leading 263 return yards on 28 returns), Shaun also logged 22 catches for 358 yards and one touchdown while appearing in all 12 games.
McDonald really broke out in 2001 under new head coach Dirk Koetter, catching 47 passes for 1,104 yards and 10 touchdowns and adding one rushing touchdown on the way to earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors. Shaun nearly re-wrote the record books, finishing the season just 40 yards short of setting the single-season receiving yards record.
Paired with sophomore quarterback Andrew Walter, McDonald enjoyed one of the most prolific seasons for a wide receiver in Arizona State history. Shaun was nothing short of dynamic in 14 games in 2002, setting program records with 87 catches and 1,405 yards, and finishing one TD reception behind Doug Allen's record from 1984 with 13 TDs.
McDonald recorded six games with at least 100 receiving yards, including 11 catches for 114 yards in the Holiday Bowl that saw the Devils come up short by a 34-27 score against Kansas State. Shaun earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors for the second straight season, and was also named a third-team All-American and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award for the nation's most outstanding wide receiver (won by Michigan State's Charles Rogers).
Following his junior season, Shaun declared for the 2003 NFL Draft. Measuring 5-foot-9 and 174 pounds on his pro day, Shaun was poised to make his mark as a slot receiver. Taken in the 4th round at No. 106 overall by the St. Louis Rams, Shaun appeared in 88 career games over 7 seasons with stops in Detroit and Pittsburgh, catching 220 passes for 2,490 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Congratulations to the Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2023!#ForksUp /// #O2V
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) June 14, 2023
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After a long wait, McDonald was inducted into the Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023. Still the single season record holder for catches and receiving yards, McDonald held the record for most career games of 150 receiving yards or more with 7, since broken by Derek Hagen with his 8th such game in 2004.
The Sun Devils have seen no shortage of elite wide receivers over the years, but Shaun McDonald set the standard for the current generation to live up to.