The Ohio State football program hasn’t seen a nose guard as disruptive and productive as Kayden McDonald since first-team All-American Johnathan Hankins terrorized opposing offensive lines in 2012.
That statement isn’t made without data to back it up. McDonald is the first Buckeye nose guard to record eight tackles in a game since Hankins did that season, and just like Hankins that year, he’s done it twice. But while the recently-retired 12-year NFL veteran did so against weaker competition in Cal and UAB, McDonald’s eight-tackle outbursts were against Texas and Penn State.
“I'm a game-wrecker,” McDonald said on Wednesday. “I find the ball very easily because of my teammates. And Coach Patricia does a great job of letting us play and not, like, have us playing one gap and just letting us let it free.”
Great defense starts in the middle. Ohio State has a great defense in 2025 – by historic standards, thus far – and a central piece of that greatness is McDonald, its monstrous nose guard.
“He's a huge part of our defense,” Ryan Day said. “We say inside out, and he's the middle of it all. He's, every day, getting better, more consistent, more experienced, more mature just in his approach, and he's a very important guy on our defense, and his production has increased as the season's gone on.”
McDonald added a seven-tackle outing at Washington to his eight-tackle ones, that game perhaps being his most dominant as he added three tackles for loss and two sacks. Each of his season totals is beyond eye-popping for a man often forced to eat double-teams in the middle of the line of scrimmage: He has 37 tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks just eight games into the season.
Somehow, his impact goes beyond those numbers. Penn State, which features one of the nation’s premier running backs in Kaytron Allen, managed a mere 55 yards on 31 carries (1.8 yards per attempt) – and 26 of those 55 yards came on Allen’s first run, a toss to the outside to avoid McDonald. The Nittany Lions’ previous season lows were 137 rushing yards and 3.8 yards per carry.
McDonald is Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded interior run defender in the country at 91.1. He’s more than a space-eater, he’s a space vacuum. A black hole in the middle of the line that no running back can escape from.
“He means a lot,” defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. said. “Him, Tywone, Eddrick Houston, those are the interior guys and they stand firm in that, in the paint. They do a great job at what they do.”
Anchored by McDonald, Ohio State’s run defense is No. 7 in rushing yards allowed per game (81.8) and No. 7 in yards allowed per carry (2.6).
It’s helpful to have a defender who is that dominant on the field as much as possible. That’s why one of the main offseason focuses for McDonald was conditioning. He joked during preseason camp that his nickname had gone from “K-Mac” to “Slim-Mac” for his weight loss, and it’s shown in his snap counts. The 326-pound behemoth has surpassed 30 snaps in four of the Buckeyes’ games, playing a career-high 42 against Penn State.
“I think he understands the workload that it takes to play inside like that,” Day said. “It's just not something you show up and play a few snaps and then get out of there. I mean, it's an all-day sucker, and he played his most plays he played on Saturday, I think, in his career. So that was a great sign for him in terms of sustaining a high level of play.”
As for his ludicrous production, McDonald credits three things. First, his shift in mentality from last season. Going from rotational piece to starter, he’s zeroed in on learning how opposing offenses will attack the Silver Bullets and soaking up all the film study he can. He treats each snap at practice as if it were a snap in a game.
“That’s the preparation throughout the week,” McDonald said. “Each play is a game rep, and once the game starts, no guessing. And knowing what you're doing and assignments and trusting your technique and trusting the teammates around you makes me play more free.”
Second, the scheme and teaching of defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. The Buckeyes’ new DC has liberated McDonald alongside Ohio State’s entire front six with a mix of fronts and stunts to confuse offensive lines and create winning matchups. And he’s poured into his players off the field, perhaps most importantly.
“He helps me either (with) what I need to eat, diet, cardio, what's been going on, how's academics doing, how's family doing,” McDonald said. “He's a family coach. And I love him to death and I'd do anything for him, and I'm just happy to know that he's here.”
Lastly, the defense surrounding him, especially his fellow defensive linemen. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson has them playing more free than ever in 2025. Last year’s College Football Playoff run and this season have more than answered doubts about whether the 73-year-old can still develop talent.
“I just don't take no plays for granted, and I love football,” McDonald said. “Coach Johnson preaches just to have unbridled spirit and have the energy, and it shows on Saturdays when all 11 guys run to the ball.”
As great as his personal accolades have been, like many of his teammates, one goal stands above the rest for McDonald: Winning a second straight national championship for the first time in school history. The Buckeyes are glad that their defensive interior is well secured for a potential run with K-Mac.
“It's a blessing playing for The Ohio State University,” McDonald said. “It gives me a little bit of motivation because last year's team won a national championship. Now it's our turn, my class and my boys. So that gives me the motivation to go repeat.”
