McDonald attended the
United States Air Force Academy at
Colorado Springs, Colorado. While attending the Academy, he played at the
cornerback position for the
Air Force Falcons football team from 1989 to 1992 under head coach
Fisher DeBerry. As a senior, McDonald was selected as a consensus
defensive back on the
1992 College Football All-America Team. He was also selected as the
Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the year in both 1991 and 1992. He also finished second in the voting for the 1992
Thorpe Award, presented to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. During his playing career, he was six feet tall and weighed 195 pounds. ==Later years==