Steelers' Mike Tomlin Praises Pitt Legend Aaron Donald

Pitt Panthers legend Aaron Donald's work ethic always stuck out to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

NFC Wild Card Playoffs - Los Angeles Rams v Detroit Lions / Ryan Kang/GettyImages

PITTSBURGH -- Former Pitt Panthers great Aaron Donald's surprising announcement that he would retire from football shook the football world and left the NFL without one of it's biggest names.

But the legacy of Pitt's best defender - and perhaps overall player - in history lives on in the ranks of professional football, especially with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who shared a practice facility with Donald and the Panthers for all of the legendary interior lineman's career.

“I think my memories about him are probably more personal than impact on the game,” Tomlin said at the NFL Owners meetings in Orlando, Florida this week. “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him since he was about 18 years old, and I just have witnessed his relationship that he has had with the game. I’ve seen him getting out of his car when it’s still very dark in the morning and working solo over the course of a 12 month calendar."

Donald's never been one to shy away from hard work, even after reaching the summit of professional football. He's won a Super Bowl, earned a record 10-straight Pro Bowl invitations and eight All-Pro selections, but he still showed up to work early and clocked out late. Tomlin's seen him do it.

“I remember when the Rams won the Super Bowl, it was probably a week later, I saw him, getting out of his car in Pittsburgh, PA with his sweats on and his bag and going to work, and I think that’s just indicative of who he is as a football man," Tomlin said. "And why he’s had the type of career that he’s had and why he’s had the impact on the game he’s had. The secret is there’s no secret, man, this guy has built that thing brick by brick and I’m just so respectful of what he’s done and how he’s gone about it.”

Donald racked up 53 total tackles in his final season, 16 for a loss, eight sacks, 23 quarterback hits and three passes defended. Frequent double-teams still weren't slowing down the best defensive tackle in the NFL, even as he wrapped up his age 32 season. Donald, the 2014 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, has also won three overall Defensive Player of the Year awards.

He dominated his senior season at Pitt in 2013, finishing the year having taken home ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, in addition to the Nagurski, Lombardi and Bednarik Awards and the Outland Trophy and consensus first-team All-American honors. Donald's 66 career tackles for loss rank fourth all-time in NCAA history.

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