He played college football for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft.

He initially intended on playing at a junior college for a year until he received a last-minute offer from Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich the night before national signing day.

[6][7] He tightened his motion after consulting quarterbacks coach Craig Stutzmann and completed 38 percent of his deep throws.

[11] Following the end of the season, he announced that he would forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2020 NFL draft.

[12] McDonald received an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine and recorded the fastest 40-yard dash among quarterbacks with a time of 4.58 seconds and the highest vertical jump at 36 inches.