AMES – Iowa State’s JaQuan Bailey and Will McDonald are two of 20 players who made the updated Ted Hendricks Award Watch List, announced today by the Ted Hendricks Foundation.
The award is given annually to the nation’s best defensive end.
Bailey and McDonald have helped the Cyclones rank 36th nationally in sacks per game (2.71) and 27th in the nation in TFL per game (7.4). ISU’s 7.4 TFL per game rate is on pace to be the best in school history.
Bailey, a senior from Jacksonville, Fla., is Iowa State’s all-time career leader in sacks (23.5) and TFL (42.5) and is producing at a high rate in his final season in Cardinal and Gold.
Bailey leads the team in TFL with 11.0, ranking second in the Big 12, and is second on the team in sacks (5.0), ranking fourth in the league. Bailey equaled single-game school marks in sacks (3.5) and TFL (4.0) vs. TCU and was honored as the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
Bailey also leads all Cyclone down linemen with 28 tackles.
A native of Pewaukee, Wis., McDonald has established himself as one of the best third-down specialists in the nation. McDonald is currently tied for first in the Big 12 with 5.5 sacks and has 6.5 TFL.
McDonald has been credited with a sack in five of seven games this season and has 10.5 sacks in his last 11 games dating back to last season. His 12.5 career sacks ties for eighth in school history.
