Jets rookie DE Will McDonald will wear franchise sack leader Mark Gastineau’s No. 99
Will McDonald said he only got 45 minutes of sleep from the time he was drafted by the Jets at No. 15 to the time he entered the team facility.
McDonald says he has been able to rest a bit in the seven days since.
“I’ve been getting the right amount of sleep,” McDonald said at the start of the Jets’ rookie minicamp on Friday afternoon. “I usually try to get to bed before 10.
“Eating the right foods, waking up, doing what I got to do to keep my body healthy.”
Many were surprised the Jets selected McDonald with their first-round pick, considering the current logjam at defensive end. But with all of the first-round-rated offensive tackles off the board at that point, Gang Green decided to take the best available player and a pass rusher who could potentially wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage.
During Friday’s practice at Florham Park, McDonald and the rest of the rookies participated in positional drills. He will wear No. 99, his first number when he arrived at Iowa State, before later switching to No. 9. If he is anything like another famous No. 99 with the Jets, McDonald will be in good shape.
Most Gang Green fans associate No. 99 with five-time Pro Bowler Mark Gastineau, who leads the franchise with 107.5 career sacks. McDonald doesn’t know much about Gastineau, but he models his game after players such as Maxx Crosby, Von Miller and Aaron Donald.
His spin move was challenging to stop while at Iowa State. With the Cyclones, McDonald registered 125 tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss and 34 sacks. He left as the school’s all-time sack leader and tied the all-time record for sacks in the Big 12. But his tendency to strip opposing players proved to be a weapon at Iowa State.
“It was awareness,” McDonald said about stripping ball carriers. “I feel like something that helps me is my martial arts, my jiu-jitsu with hand-eye coordination and balance.
“The objective, you want to get the ball, that’s money.”
Not only is learning the Jets playbook a significant part of the rookie minicamp but so is just learning where to go inside the building.
“We want to acclimate the kids that will be here on the 90-man roster,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “So kind of like a Phase 2, an introduction to the scheme.”
