From Humble Beginnings, Aaron Donald's Success Surprises No One In Penn Hills
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Penn Hills native Aaron Donald has cemented himself as one of the best defensive players in the world, and those who played with him in high school aren't surprised.
"We saw it on day one," said former Penn Hills and Pitt teammate Dan Mason. "When he came up as a sophomore, he went down there with Coach Gibbs, who came back after individuals and said, 'Hey, we got a d-tackle,' and we threw him right in the mix. It was instant."
"It's definitely not shocking," said former Penn Hills teammate Teddy Blakeman. "Considering how good of a player he was, how different he was, it's not too surprising where he is now in his career."
During his time in red and gold, Donald was a game-wrecker.
"Early on, he had that I'm-not-going-to-get-blocked-or-stay-blocked mentality," said Ron Graham, Donald's head coach at Penn Hills. "He was really a quiet leader and really good on the field."
"When a play needed to be made on the field, he was 14 or 15 years old and he was making those plays," Blakeman said.
Even with that obvious ability in high school, Donald was not highly recruited. In fact, the University of Pittsburgh was his only major college offer.
"There was a switch from the real big defensive tackles who were just eating gaps up to the guys with speed and quickness with power," said Graham. "He rewrote the books on that because he's quick, he's fast and he's powerful."
Despite being one of the best players in one of the most popular sports in the world, Donald is still grounded and hasn't forgotten where he came from. And people in Penn Hills have noticed.
"He's always been humble," Graham said. "He's always been humble. He comes up and does his youth camp up here and he's real interactive with the kids and the families."
"That's one thing about him, he's always been down to Earth," said Mason. "I text him on the same number he's always had and he always gets back to you. He's a real stand-up guy."
That type of attitude means a lot to those in Penn Hills, and they can't wait to watch him on the world's biggest stage on Sunday night.
"It's amazing, and it's almost like I'm living vicariously through him," Mason said. "I played with him here and at Pitt and he's always been a dog, somebody who's always going to go out and go to war with you. Just to see a guy like that and earned it and did it the right way, I can't be more proud of him."
