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Aaron Donald is widely considered to be one of the greatest defenders of all time and appears to be a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame whenever he decides to hang up his cleats.
However, the Los Angeles Rams superstar was not a highly-recruited prospect coming out of high school.
He was graded as a three-star prospect and the 37th-ranked defensive tackle in the 2010 recruiting class. Donald stayed home, playing his collegiate football for the Pittsburgh Panthers.
As a true freshman reserve, he had 11 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one pass defended.
Donald entered the lineup the following season and broke out in a big way as he recorded 47 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, one forced fumble and four passes defended.
He was named to the second-team All-Big East. As a junior, he compiled 64 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two passes defended. He was then named to the first-team All-Big East.
He had a monster season in his senior year as he finished with 59 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and three passes defended. Donald was subsequently named a unanimous All-American and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
He also won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football. Furthermore, he took home the Outland Trophy and Bill Willis Trophy, as the best interior lineman and best defensive lineman, respectively. Perhaps most notably though, he lifted the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LVI.
How has Aaron Donald performed in the NFL?
The then-St.Louis Rams made Aaron Donald the No. 13 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. In nine seasons with the Rams, he has compiled 490 total tackles, 237 quarterback hits, 160.0 tackles for loss, 103.0 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, 18 passes defended and one safety.
Donald was named the 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was also named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, 2018 and 2020. Donald's three selections are tied with Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt for the most all-time.
He has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his nine seasons while being named a first-team All-Pro seven times. Donald was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
