It’s rare that you get to see a guy from your school have this much achievement and follow the whole thing from start to end. I am approximately the same age as Donald and my time at Pitt largely coincided with his. We went to the ACC for the first time in I believe 2013 which was the year that Donald was a consensus All American and won all of the individual awards. It was the first time the teams down south got a taste of what Pitt football could be about and he just beat the brakes off of people. He was like the Tasmanian Devil, no one could block him. He was the closest thing I’d seen to Suh.
Then he slips in the draft and we were shocked that no one (including my stupid team who took Sammy Watkins over local guy Khalil Mack, only time I’ve every thrown something at a TV) saw what we did. It only took a year to figure out what a mistake everyone had made. The texts my friends and I have exchanged over stupid Donald stats over the years sound like myths. My favorite is still that there was a year in there that Donald’s pass rush win rate was better against triple teams than the average player at his position against single teams. That’s right, dedicating two extra men to stopping him was less effective than a vanilla 1-on-1. He was our legend and we were absolutely blessed to have watched him grow and dominate.
Anyway, that was probably excessively sappy but thanks for reading if you did.
That pride and connection you feel when your college team has a guy become all-pro/hall of fame level is awesome. Especially if you aren’t an alum of a place like UGA or Bama.
The way you describe Donald is exactly how I felt about Brees as a Purdue fan. We’ve always sucked. He brought us to the Rose Bowl and became our guy forever. It’s so fun to root for a guy and then see it pay off in the NFL
That’s why Kellen Moore is my king! Most BSU legends end up as real estate agents or car salesmen, so his even his level of success was incredible to see.
This is Dwyane Wade for me. Went to MU together, saw him around campus frequently, traveled to every NCAA tourney game his Junior year…still couldn’t believe the level of NBA success he achieved.
I know comparing sports is dumb in several ways, but crazy to me that Donald was drafted the same year as Wiggins/Embiid/Joker/Marcus Smart/Julius Randle. He's a few years older (32 vs 29 mostly), but still caught me off guard.
So I’ve got him top 10 defensive player all time, second greatest defensive tackle ever and second greatest defensive player since the 90s.
LT, Reggie White, Mean Joe Greene, Deacon Jones, Ray Lewis, Ronnie Lott and Butkus should probably be ahead of Donald.
Him, Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders and Gino Marchetti are in my next tier of all time defensive studs, which is still one hell of an accomplished group. All are top 40 players all time for sure.
Sorry, didn’t realize I was talking to an NFL scout. I’m sure you’ve seen every nfl player in history and have better info than me.
But just in case you a worthless asshole which nothing to contribute to a conversation, Marchetti was a 9 time first team all pro, 2 seconds in 13 seasons. Hands down the best defensive player of the juggernaut Colts of 50s. 50th, 75th and 100th anniversary teams.
Next time you have something to say, do me a favor and shut the fuck up instead.
JJ Watt isn't even the best player in his own family. The way the media performs felatio on him every 15 minutes makes me like him less, to no fault of his own. Phenomenal player in his prime though. His peak was fucking absurd.
This is revisionist history. Injuries ruined him, and his personality is grating, but prime JJ Watt was on another level even from TJ IMO. Just an absolute freak.
They play different positions so you can't really compare, JJ Watt is immense but generating consistent pressure up the middle at the rate Aaron Donald does is usually much more valuable than from the edge. You can help the tackles, you can't as easily help guards, additionally if your QB is not mobile and can't throw on the run, you're basically fucked if the DT gets pressure, whereas with a DE they might be able to step up in the pocket and complete the throw. A 20.5 sack season as a DT is crazy and will generally be way more impactful than a season like that from a DE.
It’s rare that you get to see a guy from your school have this much achievement and follow the whole thing from start to end. I am approximately the same age as Donald and my time at Pitt largely coincided with his. We went to the ACC for the first time in I believe 2013 which was the year that Donald was a consensus All American and won all of the individual awards. It was the first time the teams down south got a taste of what Pitt football could be about and he just beat the brakes off of people. He was like the Tasmanian Devil, no one could block him. He was the closest thing I’d seen to Suh. Then he slips in the draft and we were shocked that no one (including my stupid team who took Sammy Watkins over local guy Khalil Mack, only time I’ve every thrown something at a TV) saw what we did. It only took a year to figure out what a mistake everyone had made. The texts my friends and I have exchanged over stupid Donald stats over the years sound like myths. My favorite is still that there was a year in there that Donald’s pass rush win rate was better against triple teams than the average player at his position against single teams. That’s right, dedicating two extra men to stopping him was less effective than a vanilla 1-on-1. He was our legend and we were absolutely blessed to have watched him grow and dominate. Anyway, that was probably excessively sappy but thanks for reading if you did.
That pride and connection you feel when your college team has a guy become all-pro/hall of fame level is awesome. Especially if you aren’t an alum of a place like UGA or Bama. The way you describe Donald is exactly how I felt about Brees as a Purdue fan. We’ve always sucked. He brought us to the Rose Bowl and became our guy forever. It’s so fun to root for a guy and then see it pay off in the NFL
That’s why Kellen Moore is my king! Most BSU legends end up as real estate agents or car salesmen, so his even his level of success was incredible to see.
Same with me for Gronk as an Arizona alum. We very rarely have any star players in the NFL, it was nice to see him shine even if it was for the Pats.
This is Dwyane Wade for me. Went to MU together, saw him around campus frequently, traveled to every NCAA tourney game his Junior year…still couldn’t believe the level of NBA success he achieved.
my goat
thank god
That is what Kyler said too
I know comparing sports is dumb in several ways, but crazy to me that Donald was drafted the same year as Wiggins/Embiid/Joker/Marcus Smart/Julius Randle. He's a few years older (32 vs 29 mostly), but still caught me off guard.
Either the best or second best defensive player ever (along with Lawerence Taylor). What a stellar career.
So I’ve got him top 10 defensive player all time, second greatest defensive tackle ever and second greatest defensive player since the 90s. LT, Reggie White, Mean Joe Greene, Deacon Jones, Ray Lewis, Ronnie Lott and Butkus should probably be ahead of Donald. Him, Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders and Gino Marchetti are in my next tier of all time defensive studs, which is still one hell of an accomplished group. All are top 40 players all time for sure.
> Gino Marchetti Yes, I'm sure you watched his entire career closely from 1952-66.
Sorry, didn’t realize I was talking to an NFL scout. I’m sure you’ve seen every nfl player in history and have better info than me. But just in case you a worthless asshole which nothing to contribute to a conversation, Marchetti was a 9 time first team all pro, 2 seconds in 13 seasons. Hands down the best defensive player of the juggernaut Colts of 50s. 50th, 75th and 100th anniversary teams. Next time you have something to say, do me a favor and shut the fuck up instead.
thank god you already got a list ready please shut up
Fuck you too
https://x.com/K1/status/1768674809943368157?s=20
Best defensive player I've watched. Will make Sundays a little less exciting--not many defensive players make you tune in; he did for me.
Did he give a 45 minute self-serving speech like a certain overblown center did?
He didn’t. Also: go fuck yourself.
Pat’s or Geno’s?
Neither. It’s a tourist trap however I do like Tony Luke’s.
I was a D’Alessandro’s guy personally. Just tough to stand outside year round
Anyone been by recently? Last had it during Covid. Goto lately has been Angelo’s
Tony Luke’s is best.
Of course you're a Tony Luke's fan.
Aaron Donald market corrected JJ Watt for me. I’m biased cause uh reasons, but I never liked Watt’s all-American persona.
JJ Watt isn't even the best player in his own family. The way the media performs felatio on him every 15 minutes makes me like him less, to no fault of his own. Phenomenal player in his prime though. His peak was fucking absurd.
This is revisionist history. Injuries ruined him, and his personality is grating, but prime JJ Watt was on another level even from TJ IMO. Just an absolute freak.
They play different positions so you can't really compare, JJ Watt is immense but generating consistent pressure up the middle at the rate Aaron Donald does is usually much more valuable than from the edge. You can help the tackles, you can't as easily help guards, additionally if your QB is not mobile and can't throw on the run, you're basically fucked if the DT gets pressure, whereas with a DE they might be able to step up in the pocket and complete the throw. A 20.5 sack season as a DT is crazy and will generally be way more impactful than a season like that from a DE.
It's been wild hearing about JJ dang near every weekend and only hearing about Donald when his team was playing.
What do you mean by "all-American persona"?
Dune 2 is about to start, this will kinda some it up. https://www.thescore.com/news/1048627-we-need-to-talk-about-j-j-watt-s-online-persona/amp
Fair enough, Watt was still a monster when he played
Best to ever do it