Honors
- All-MVFC (2020-21 - second team; 2021 - honorable mention; 2022 - honorable mention)
- Team Co-Captain (2022)
- MVFC Honor Roll (2020-21)
- MSU Athletic Dirctor's Honor Roll (Spring 2021)
2022
Earned All-MVFC honorable mention distinction ... Bears co-captain started 9-of-10 appearances and finished season with 40 total tackles, 20 solo stops and 6 passes defended and 5 pass break-ups ... Logged 6 tackles at North Dakota (10/1/22) with 4 solos ... Registered 5 stops at No. 10 Arkansas with a solo tackle ... Also had 5 stops and QB hurry vs. No. 2 South Dakota St. (9/24/22) with a hurry ... Racked up 5 stops and matched season-high with 4 solo tackles in win at Indiana State (11/19/22) in season finale with his only interception of the campaign ... Forced a fumble and notched 4 solo tackles vs. UT Martin (9/8/22) ... Â Had 4 tackles, 2 pass break-ups in home win over Youngstown State (11/12/22) ... Earned 2022 Preseason All-MVFC first team honors ... Phil Steele named McDonald to his MVFC fourth-team squad.Â
2021
Earned All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honorable mention laurels in 2021 ... Finished the season 4th on the team with 64 total stops to go with 45 solos, 9.5 tackles for loss and 10 passes defended ... Started all 12 games at safety ... Ranked 8th in The Valley in passes defended (0.83) with 8 PBUs and 2 interceptions, while finishing 14th in the conference in tackles for loss (0.79) and 33rd in tackles per game (5.3) ... Posted season-high 10 stops in season opener at Oklahoma State (9/4/21) with 6 solos, a forced fumble and a PBU ... Broke up 2 passes and had a pair of tackles for loss to go with 5 solo stops in homecoming win over Indiana State (10/16/21) ... Had interceptions in back-to-back weeks with picks at No. 3 North Dakota State (10/23/21) and vs. North Dakota (10/30/21) ... Brought down 9 ball carriers in NCAA FCS Playoff game vs. UT Martin (11/27/21) with 8 solos and 3.5 tackles for loss ... Phil Steele named McDonald to its MVFC second team.
2020-21
Earned All-MVFC second-team honors in his first season with the Bears ... After becoming eligible for league opener at Western Illinois with 6 tackles and a sack, he had a team-high 35 solo tackles in conference play ... His 6.8 stops per game against Valley opponents ranked 15th among all league defenders ... Ranked 2nd in league in punt return average (7.2) against league foes ... Brought down 11 ball carriers with 8 solos in win at No. 21 South Dakota (3/13/21) ... Notched a season-high 9 solo stops vs. No. 6 North Dakota State (3/6/21) with a sack ... Had 10 total tackles with 8 solos and a sack in win over No. 10 Southern Illinois (3/27/21) ... Averaged 7.2 yards per punt return, which ranked 2nd in the league, including a long 17-yarder in win over Youngstown State (4/10/21) ... Returned 3 kickoffs for 50 yards vs. North Dakota State (3/6/21) ... Named to MVFC Honor Roll ... Earned spot on MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for Spring 2021.
Cincinnati Â
Played in games against UCLA and Ohio State as a redshirt sophomore in 2019.
Alabama
Played two seasons at Alabama for coach Nick Saban, redshirting his freshman year (2017) and seeing playing time in 11 games in 2018 ... Had 7 tackles and a QB hurry in 2018 for the Crimson Tide ... Earned the coaching staff’s Special Teams Player of the Week twice in games against Mississippi State (11/10/18) and Auburn (11/24/18) ... Had a pair of tackles in career debut against Arkansas State (9/8/18) and played in the SEC title game vs. Georgia (12/1/18).
High School
He was a four-star recruit by Rivals and three-star prospect by Scout, ESPN and 247sports his senior year at James Clemens High School in Huntsville, Ala. ... Brought down 66 ball carriers as a senior (2016) for coach Wade Waldrop with 3 interceptions, 12 tackles for loss and 11 pass break-ups as the No. 24 ranked CB nationally ... Finished with 70 tackles, 8 interceptions, 5 blocked punts and 5 PBU's as a junior ... Recorded 10 non-offensive touchdowns his junior year with 4 interception returns, 4 punt returns and 2 kickoff returns for scores ... Had offers from Mississippi State, Louisville, Florida State and others before signing with Alabama ... Was on the 2015 Alabama Sportswriters Super 12 and the 2016 USA Today Alabama first team.
Personal
Kyriq Fernandez McDonald was born 4/10/99 in Huntsville, Ala. ... Son of Stephanie McDonald of Madison, Ala. ... Has a brother, Khalil ... Majoring in Graduate Studies (graduate certificate).
