Usage / Role
100%
Featured defensive role
lowfeatured
Player Dossier
2009-2012USC
T.J. McDonald
S • 6'2" • Fresno, CA, USA
Ball-hunting defenderSplash play profile
T.J. McDonald shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 20 disruption score.
Impact Production
80
High-end production for a safety
lowelite
Reliability
100
Regular contributor with several takeover games
lowhigh
Star Power
72
High-upside career profile
limitedstar
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by Season Value: 2011 Regular Season · USC
09101112
Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Unique Seasons
- 4
- Program Path
- USC
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Arizona
Player Story
T.J. McDonald built his college career from 2009 through 2012 as a safety from Fresno, CA wearing No. 7, spending time with USC. The clearest part of T.J. McDonald's career was his defensive production: 8...
Read the story5★
- Committed To
- USC
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2009
NFL Draft
- Draft Year
- 2013
- Selection
- Round 3 · Pick 9
- Overall
- No. 71
- NFL Team
- Los Angeles Rams
T.J. McDonald, S. Best season Best season by Season Value: 2011 Regular Season · USC. T.J. McDonald shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 20 disruption score.
Quick Answers
T.J. McDonald quick answers
- Latest team and position
- USC · S
- Career Tackles
- 0
- Tracked sample
- 4 unique seasons · 4 entries · 8 games
- Best season
- 2011 Regular Season · USC
- Top game
- Arizona
- Recruit profile
- 5-star · Edison · USC
- High school pipeline
- Edison · 27 FBS recruits · 1 drafted player
- NFL Draft
- 2013 · Round 3 · Pick 9 · Los Angeles Rams
- Latest roster
- No. 7 · Class 2012
Season Ledger
Crawlable season-by-season stats
| Season | Team | Games | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hur | PD | TD | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Regular Season | USC | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
| 2010 Regular Season | USC | 4 | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 0 | 62.5 |
| 2011 Regular Season | USC | 2 | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 0 | 67.4 |
| 2012 Regular Season | USC | 2 | 0 | - | 0 | - | - | 0 | 62.2 |
Related Context
Keep exploring T.J. McDonald
T.J. McDonald is listed as a S for USC. Detailed college production data is limited on CFB Track.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2011 Regular Season
USC paired 3 primary output with 30 efficiency.
Supporting note
2012 Regular Season role shape
impact-led usage with 20 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value cooled off
2012 Regular Season fell back from the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Arizona State
Win with 1 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet. It landed in the 100th percentile of the selected season.
Analysis workspace
Season Workbench
Filter the strongest season sample, inspect game-level shape, and then drop into the full log without losing the story of the year.
Season Explorer
Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.
2012 Regular Season · USC
Games
2
Havoc Plays / G
1
Efficiency
20
Usage
—
Consistency
100
Best Game by takeover score
Arizona State
Not enough games exist for the full explorer. The summary cards stay available so the season still reads clearly.
Active game
Hover over a point
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Game-by-Game Trend
Follow how the selected stat changes from one game to the next. Spikes mark standout outings, while dips show quieter weeks.
Chronological game order.
Game by game trend chart. California: 1. Arizona State: 1
Volume vs Efficiency
Each dot is a game. Farther right means the player carried more of the workload, and higher means they were more efficient with those chances.
Scatter view is hidden because this season does not have enough game-to-game variety yet.
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
First Half1 · Games = 1 · +0 vs Second Half
Second Half1 · Games = 1 · +0 vs First Half
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
2 games
Featured metric
Havoc Plays
Top game by takeover score
Arizona State
Best efficiency game
20 vs Arizona State
Player Story
T.J. McDonald story
T.J. McDonald built his college career from 2009 through 2012 as a safety from Fresno, CA wearing No. 7, spending time with USC. The clearest part of T.J. McDonald's career was his defensive production: 8 interceptions across 8 career games in the available record. His largest box-score season came in 2010 with USC. Those numbers show where he fit, how often the ball or action found him, and how his role developed over time.
Defensive careers can be hard to read from one number, but T.J. McDonald's production has multiple signals. His career also includes 26 return yards, giving the story more than a single-category snapshot. With 8 career games in the available record, his career has enough shape to show both opportunity and production across USC.
The arc is straightforward: T.J. McDonald moved through the depth chart, found a larger role, and turned that opportunity into production that can be understood through standard football numbers.
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
USC
2009-2012
Opening stop
Season Value Progression
2009201020112012
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Regular Season | USC | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2010 Regular Season | USC | 3 | 15 | — | 3 |
| 2011 Regular Season | USC | 3 | 30 | — | 0 |
| 2012 Regular Season | USC | 2 | 20 | — | -1 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
vs Arizona
Week 5 · W 48-41 · Conference game
Win with 2 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
2
Havoc Plays
70 takeover
2 disruption/tackle impact with 70 takeover score.
#2
vs California
Week 7 · W 48-14 · Conference game
1
Havoc Plays
60 takeover
Win with 1 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
1 disruption/tackle impact with 60 takeover score.
#3
@ Washington State
Week 4 · W 50-16 · Conference game
1
Havoc Plays
60 takeover
Win with 1 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
1 disruption/tackle impact with 60 takeover score.
#4
vs Virginia
Week 2 · W 17-14
1
Havoc Plays
60 takeover
Win with 1 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
1 disruption/tackle impact with 60 takeover score.
#5
vs Arizona State
Week 11 · W 38-17 · Conference game
1
Havoc Plays
60 takeover
Win with 1 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
1 disruption/tackle impact with 60 takeover score.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by Season Value
2011 Regular Season · USC
3 primary output · 30 efficiency · — usage
67.4
#2
2010 Regular Season · USC
62.5
3 primary · 15 efficiency · — usage
#3
2012 Regular Season · USC
62.2
2 primary · 20 efficiency · — usage
Milestones
6
Impact games
1
Splash games
0
10+ tackle games
Next best actions
Keep exploring T.J. McDonald
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