Football: Aaron Donald selected in NFL Draft by St. Louis Rams

On Thursday night, Aaron Donald became the first Pitt football player taken in this year’s NFL Draft.

The St. Louis Rams picked the defensive lineman 13th, ending a two-year period when no Panthers heard their names called by commissioner Roger Goodell at the event.

Donald’s selection marks the highest a Panther has gone since Larry Fitzgerald went third in 2004 to the Arizona Cardinals. It is also the school’s first opening round choice since Jon Baldwin went to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011.

This milestone puts the final wrap on the Penn Hills native’s collegiate career, capping off a senior season when he collected almost all of the individual honors possible, including All-American by unanimous vote, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award.