| ||||||||||||
George McDonald, the wide receivers coach at Northern Illinois University the past three years, was named Stanford's tight ends coach on February 17, 2004.
A 1999 graduate of the University of Illinois, McDonald was part of an NIU team that made national headlines a year ago after they began the year 9-0- and rose to No. 12 in the BCS rankings. The Huskies wound up 10-2 to finish one of the most successful seasons in school history. NIU took center stage nationally after beating Maryland, Iowa State and Alabama.
One of McDonald's receivers, P.J. Fleck, recorded over 1,000 receiving yards and was named First-Team All-Mid American Conference. In 2002, another McDonald pupil, Danny Sheldon, led the nation in punt returns and was named First-Team All-America and the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year.
In his first season at NIU in 2001, one of McDonald's receivers, Darrel Hill, was named Second-Team All-MAC and was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans.
McDonald began his coaching career in 2000 at Ball State as a graduate assistant coaching wide receivers and quarterbacks. He then spent three months at Bucknell University in the Spring of 2001 before being named wide receivers coach at Northern Illinois in June of '01.
McDonald was a two-sport standout in football and track at the University of Illinois. He earned four letters in football (1995-98) and two letters in track (1996, '99). He had 57 career receptions for 589 yards and four touchdowns. As a kickoff return specialist, he had 57 returns for 1,276 yards in 44 career games. His name appears in the Illinois record book for kickoff returns in several categories. In track, he ran as a freshman and senior, earning First-Team All-Big-10 honors as a senior in the 60-meter indoor with a school record time of 6.74 in 1999.
A native of southern California, McDonald was a prep All-America football player at Buena Park High School. He played both quarterback and running back in high school while also competing in the sprints on the track team. McDonald, who was tabbed as one of the top-100 prospects in the west, was named the conference Player of the Year as a senior in 1993.
McDonald (born 5/10/76) earned a B.S. in Health Administration from Illinois in 1999. He is currently working on his Masters in Sports Administration from Ball State.
| Coaching Assignments | |
| 2000 | Ball State - Graduate Assistant (WR/QB) |
| 2001-03 | Northern Illinois - Wide Receivers |
| 2004 | Stanford - Tight Ends |
Prominent Players Coached
Danny Sheldon, WR/KOR, Northern Illinois
P.J. Fleck, WR, Northern Illinois
Darrel Hill, WR, Northern Illinois
The McDonald File
Full Name: George Lamont McDonald
Date of Birth: May 10, 1976
Hometown: Buena Park, California
High School: Buena Park
College: Illinois, 1999 (B.S., Health Administration)
Wife: Sara
Playing Experience: WR, Illinois, 1994-98