Illini's McDonald deserves this honor

There have been so many times during my college-beat travels where I've met student-athletes and thought, "Where do they find the time to do everything?"

That's especially true when it comes to Illinois senior center Ryan McDonald. Not only is he in the midst of his fourth year as a starter on the Illini's offensive line -- he can break the school record for starts (Tim Simpson's 48) if he finishes out this season and the team makes a bowl -- but he has a bit of a demanding academic calendar.

McDonald owns a 3.81 GPA in aerospace engineering. Yes, aerospace engineering. The other day, I watched an episode of "Illinois Football: The Journey" on the Big Ten Network where the camera crew followed McDonald to one of his classes.

The professor stood at the blackboard and wrote down all sorts of equations that looked and sounded like calculus on steroids. Afterward, the Big Ten Network people asked the professor how many athletes he'd had in his classes prior to McDonald.

The professor's answer? "None."

While McDonald will be able to write his own ticket in the real world, just in case he doesn't make the NFL, the National Football Foundation has recognized his excellence on and off the field with an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. It's funded, interestingly enough, by George Steinbrenner.

As part of this deal, McDonald also is one of 15 finalists for the 2008 Draddy Trophy, which goes to "the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation."

Sounds like a better award than the Heisman, if you ask me.

LW